Intelligence - Expanded Concepts Of Intelligence

Expanded Concepts of Intelligence

Many of the standard measures of IQ, such as the WISC and the Stanford-Binet, have changed their content over the years. Although they both still report verbal, performance, and total scores, the Wechsler model now offers scores for four additional factors (verbal comprehension, perceptual organization, processing speed, and freedom from distractibility). The Stanford-Binet also yields additional scores, including abstract-visual reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and short-term memory.

However, the majority of research into genetic and environmental variance in IQ has centered on the assumption that general cognitive ability is the essence of intelligence. Newer tests that measure specific abilities have not been included in genetic studies. These include, for example, tests that measure creativity in a model for intelligence. The addition of new factors in the Wechsler and Stanford-Binet IQ tests represents a trend toward a broader approach to IQ, and away from the notion that IQ can be understood by the single factor, "g."