Theories Of Intelligence-Spearman,Gardner,Stenberg

Theories of intelligence:

While intelligence is one of the most talked about subjects within psychology, there is no standard definition of what exactly constitutes 'intelligence.' Some researchers have suggested that intelligence is a single, general ability, while other believe that intelligence encompasses a range of aptitudes, skills and talents.

The following are some of the major theories of intelligence that have emerged during the last 100 years.

Charles Spearman - General Intelligence:

British psychologist Charles Spearman (1863-1945) described a concept he referred to as general intelligence, or the g factor. After using a technique known as factor analysis to to examine a number of mental aptitude tests, Spearman concluded that scores on these tests were remarkably similar. People who performed well on one cognitive test tended to perform well on other tests, while those who scored badly on one test tended to score badly on other. He concluded that intelligence is general cognitive ability that could be measured and numerically expressed (Spearman, 1904).

 Spearman noted that all tests of mental ability are positively correlated. Spearman discovered that people who score high on IQ or mental ability tests usually scored higher on other types of tests, and people that scored lower generally had lower scores on other tests.

Spearman speculated that if all mental tests are positively correlated there must be some common variable or factor that produces this positive correlation. In 1904 Spearman published and article that used a statistical method to show that the positive correlations among mental tests indeed resulted from a common underlying factor. This method is knows as factor analysis. Using factor analysis Spearman believed it would be possible to identify clusters of tests that measure a common ability.

Based on his factor analysis techniques Charles Spearman stated that tow factors could directly affect an individual's score...