Introduction
Intelligence testing has got a long history since studies indicate that assessment of human abilities started in China more than four hundred years ago when it was used while recruiting applicants to the civil service. As the years progressed, more theorists started to improve the tests used in china and two thousand years latter, the same could be used in other parts of the World like the United States. In the early 1800s, studies indicate that intelligence tests were being used in United States and Britain especially during the civil service replacement. However, more intelligence theories have been developed since then and their use has been the subject mater of discussion not only due to their efficiency but also due to the fact that there is a major controversy regarding their application in human beings. Bent on that, this essay shall analyze two theories of intelligence and evaluate the effectiveness of the same.
The fact that it is difficult to define intelligence makes it quite difficult to test it since it is hard to test something that cannot be defined comprehensively. Each method of intelligence testing is designed to suit a particular definition of intelligence. For instance, Binet who came up with a Binet scale which was initially designed to identify children who may require special attention illustrates that intellectual qualities of an individual cannot me measured in a linear scale. As a result, Binet explained that his scale ought not to be used for other purposes outside the school set up. However, although Binet had given the limitations of the scale and explained that it should not be used for ranking students in to intellectual abilities, other people who believed that intelligence was inborn solitary and fixed started to break the Binet’s rule (Chinappi, 2010).
Many researchers have come up with different theories of intelligence while reacting to the different methods of intelligence testing. According to, (Perkins, 1995) Stenberg illustrates a number of ways to demonstrate intelligence. He came up with triarchic theory of intelligence which maintains that there are three types of intelligence namely the practical, analytical and the creative intelligence. It is therefore clear that if there is more than one type of intelligence, it is almost impossible to quantify somebody IQ. In addition, majority of the IQ tests only measure the analytical intelligence leaving out the creative and the practical intelligence which can be understood easily by the majority. Although the Binet illustrates that intelligence cannot be measured, his scale does not take in to account the three types of intelligence. Nevertheless, although studies have indicated that most of the IQ tests are biased especially towards some cultures, they are still helpful as they still help in measuring people’s intelligence (Strydom & Du Plessis n.d ).
Gardener’s theory of intelligence also makes it quite a complicated issue to measure a person’s intelligence. The theorist maintained that expressing human intelligence in numerical form is not only inaccurate but it is also impossible to measure people’s abilities. The theory describes around eight types of intelligences that are common in different cultures which are inclusive of verbal, linguistic, bodily kinesthetic, logical mathematical, visual spatial, musical, naturalistic, intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligence. Gardner maintains that it is impossible to measure IQ since it is much more than that. In addition, without productivity, IQ cannot be equal to intelligence. According to Gardner, although some scales like the Binet and the Wechsler’s scale take a psychometric approach in measuring intelligence, they are not very accurate since they only measure mathematical and linguistic intelligence leaving out the rest (Perkins, 1995).
The effectiveness of intelligence test is still a subject of controversy in spite of the fact that many people in the world today have been subjected to the intelligence tests. Many psychologists have come to a conclusion that many of the intelligence tests being used currently are not a 100% accurate. In addition, it is also evident that there are so many factors that affect that affect the IQ tests which are inclusive but not limited to environment, mood, stress, education, culture and anxiety. Under different conditions it has been noted that people score differently in the IQ tests. Moreover, psychologists have noted that as the years progress, people are continuing to score high in most of the IQ tests.
However, even with such conclusions, importance of the IQ tests needs not to be overlooked. It is also important to note that each test is basically suited a particular group of people and for different purposes. For instance, the Binet’s Scale is best suited in education settings especially while identifying children requiring special attention. It is therefore not suited to test the intelligence of the gifted and the more intelligent children (Benito, Moro, & Alons, 2009).
Studies have indicate that there are different types of intelligence and therefore, it is not wise to use intelligence tests for recruitment purposes as some tests can lock out people with other types of intelligence apart from the scholastic intelligence. Therefore, most of the studies conducted to find out the effectiveness of intelligence tests illustrate that they can be useful if they are used with an aim of identifying a person’s weak points so as to try and improve those areas. In that case, it is not only unfair but also quite inappropriate to use intelligence tests to rank people because the current tests as studies of Benito, Moro & Alons (2009) indicate, have little or no capability predicting people’s performance in future and the ability to adjust in different situations.
There are many theories of intelligence that have been developed over the years but the paper has only analyzed multiple theory of intelligence by Gardener which illustrates that there are eight different types of intelligence and the triarchic theory by Stenberg which illustrates that there are three types of intelligence. Articles that have been analyzed illustrate the controversy that is there in intelligence testing but do not negate the fact that intelligence tests still have some importance.
References
Benito, Y., Moro, J., & Alons, J. A. (2009). What is intelligence? The effectiveness of the WISC IV for measuring it. Retrieved August 27, 2010, from http://www.centrohuertadelrey.com/nuevo/imagenes/noticias/WISCIVingles.pdf
Chinappi, J. (2010). Stanford Binet Intelligence Test Scale Review. Retrieved August 27, 2010, from http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/2545.aspx
Perkins. (1995). Theories of Intelligence. Retrieved August 27, 2010, from http://otec.uoregon.edu/intelligence.htm
Strydom, J., & Du Plessis, S. (n.d.). IQ Test: Where Does It Come From and What Does It Measure? Retrieved August 27, 2010, from http://www.audiblox2000.com/dyslexia_dyslexic/dyslexia014.htm
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