Charles spearman william revelle northwestern university charles spearman 18631945 was the leading psychometrician of the early 20th century. The theory of multiple intelligences howard gardner. Spearmans model of intelligence and gardners multiple. Spearmans two factor theory of intelligence continued. Spearmans general intelligence strengths strengths of this theory. Spearmans famous g, the general intelligence that we think of in relation to iq scores, is the result of factor analysis, a method of getting at unobserved factors from observed variables. Intelligence is defined as the ability to obtain and use knowledge in a productive way. The first theory i want to talk about is the theory of general intelligence which was put forth by a man named charles spearman.
Theories of intelligence there are different theories about intelligence, none of which agree with each other. Spearmans two factor theory it was a theory of trait organization based on the statistical analysis of test scores. For thousands of years before spearman, intellectuals and philosophers worked to understand the concept. Spearman and his followers place much more importance on general intelligence than on the. The idea that intelligence is multifaceted is not new. Theories and issues 23 the critics of gardners theory point out that it is difficult to see how all these seven intelligences meet his eight criteria e. The theory of multiple intelligences katie davis, joanna christodoulou, scott seider, and howard gardner part 1. John carroll s 2005 threestratum theory of intelligence, in which intelligence operates at three levels. Spearman tested how well people performed on various tasks relating to intelligence. For example, an individual who is an iit graduate could also be a good writer and end up being an author, an editor or a columnist.
While he agreed with gardner that intelligence is much broader than a single, general ability, he instead suggested that some of gardners types of. Background the theory of multiple intelligences, developed by psychologist howard gardner in the late 1970s and early 1980s, posits that individuals possess eight or more relatively autonomous intelligences. In order to understand how similar the two theories are we must first understand their differences. This is in sharp contrast to gardner, who defines intelligence in terms of seven intelligences, such as. Sternbergs three types of intelligence, called the triarchic theory, are. Spearman and the theory of general intelligence lyndsay t wilson5. G is, therefore, the basis of human intelligence, although there are a number of other factors which contribute to it. In 1904, a pair of remarkable papers appeared in the american journal of psychology. These primary factors are independent of each other.
One theory of intelligence states that there is one general school of thought and the other theory believes there are multiple schools of thought. It is the oldest theory regarding the nature of intelligence and flourished. His work on the classical test theory, factor analysis, and the g theory of intelligence continues to in. Much of the correspondence discusses spearmans twofactor theory and g, intelligence testing methods, statistical analysis formulae and the variables involved in causing and assessing intelligence. Intelligence impacts how an individual can be successful in life, establish relationships, or learn new awareness skills. Is intelligence a single overall ability or is it several specific abilities. Psychologist robert sternberg defined intelligence as mental activity directed toward purposive adaptation to, selection, and shaping of realworld environments relevant to ones life. Yet, his technical and theoretical contributions to the development of intelligence research as a scientific enterprise cannot be overstated. He used factor analysis, which is a statistical procedure to identify clusters of related abilities. G supposedly accounted for the wide range of observable abilities in humans which spoke to humans.
Spearmans twofactor theory of intelligence states that any cognitive performance is a function of two factorsthe general ability common to most cognitive performances and an ability specific to a given test. The second factor charles spearman identified was the specific factor. In contrast, spearmans theory defines intelligences in terms of the g factor general factor common to different learning experiences. Thurston 18871955 offered a differing theory of intelligence. Find and maintain a definite direction or purpose adjust strategy as necessary to achieve that purpose evaluate or criticize that strategy so adjustments could be made wechsler the aggregate or global capacity of an individual to act purposefully, think rationally, and. We have different types of intelligence that we recognize today, but it was charles spearman who brought science into the study of intelligence. I model thurstons group factor theory spearmans twofactor theory. These two men differed in opinion on how iq and intelligence should be measured, and they. Spearmans papers also contain much fascinating material on sensation analysis and spatial, visual and auditory perception. In factor analysis, related variables are tested for correlation to each other, then the correlation of the related items are evaluated to find clusters or groups of the variables. Spearmans theory of generalized intelligence remains one of the most recognized, but newer theories, like gardners and sternbergs, offer new and promising insights. Proposed that intelligence is based on seven primary mental abilities 1. Spearman theory of intelligence and what it reveals.
Howard gardner, a renowned psychologist, proposed a theory of multiple intelligences as opposed to the spearmans general intelligence theory. Some definitions binet defined intelligence as an individuals capacity to. While iq tests remain the standardized test of intelligence, this may not always be the case. Spearman pointed out that all intellectual activities have a single common factor called the general factor or g factor.
Charles spearman first described the existence of general intelligence in 1904. Spearman gave an overview of the general and specific factors of intelligence. Each specific ability s share the general factor g. Illustration of spearmans twofactor intelligence theory. In this paper i will compare and contrast spearmans model of intelligence and gardners multiple intelligence models. Howard gardner developed a theory of multiple intelligences back in 1983 and he was also a. Spearmans s is a factor in charles spearmans theory of intelligence represented by the factor g. Spearmans model of intelligence vs gardners multiple. Charles spearmans model of intelligence and howard gardners multiple intelligence theory are two of the most widely used theories of intelligence. The specific factor related to whatever unique abilities a particular test required so it differed from test to test. Spearmans twofactor theory guilfords theory of structure of intellect s. Every approach to thinking comes up with its own different perspective and assumptions, often contradicting at least one earlier theory.
Around 1930, thurstone was critical on spearmans model of a single or general intelligence and argued that, people possessed several multiple abilities. Intelligence has always been an important component in the study of psychology. Psychologists have attempted to understand the structure of intelligence for which they have formulated theories. Gardners intelligences consisted of abilities in various domains such as logicalmathematical intelligence, spatial intelligence, and so on. In the early 1900s, psychologist charles spearman developed his theory of general intelligence which identified g, an underlying intelligence factor. Spearman theory of intelligence pdf many theories of intelligence have been offered through the years. Spearmans theory of general intelligence a scientific theory must be falsifiable.
On the grounds of spearmans g factor theory of intelligence, this paper worked on the theory that higher english performance outcomes would naturally translate into higher gpa attainments. Spearmans model of intelligence and gardners multiple intelligences spearman believed if a person done poorly on his test then the person would do poorly at everything else. Theories of intelligence there are different theories about intelligence, none of which agreee with each other. Compare and contrast spearman and gardner intelligence models essay sample. Among the important theories of intelligence, we shall study three of them. Spearman noted that while people certainly could and often. The ttest results derived from quantitative data indicated that the means of. Theres a major division in psychometrics that different camps of intelligence theory have been fighting over for the last century. What are the different theories of intelligence in psychology.
Spearman general intelligence pdf general intelligence, objectiver determined and measured. Spearmans twofactor theory of intelligence has been extremely influential because he developed tech niques for measuring the extent to which a test measured g its loa ding or saturation. Spearman proposed that general intelligence g is linked to many clusters that can be analyzed by factor analysis. He also did seminal work on models for human intelligence, including his theory that disparate cognitive test scores reflect a single general intelligence factor and coining the term g.
General intelligence, also known as g factor, refers to the existence of a broad mental capacity that influences performance on cognitive ability measures. According to him intellectual abilities are comprised of two factors, namely the general ability known as. Multiple intelligence, p ass theory and t riarchic theory multiple intelligence. The early 1900s saw charles spearman using a mathematical approach to the question of measuring human intelligence. Group factor term was proposed to describe the group factor theory. Spearman had joined the army on leaving school and served. Compare and contrast spearman and gardner intelligence. Spearmans two factor theory by sydney felger on prezi. In 1904, charles spearman had developed a statistical procedure called factor analysis. Charles spearmans model of intelligence essay mike. Analysing the correlation between english proficiency and. He predicted the idea of a general intelligence, which is sometimes referred to as the g factor, or sometimes just g.
Charles edward spearman, frs 10 september 1863 17 september 1945 was an english psychologist known for work in statistics, as a pioneer of factor analysis, and for spearmans rank correlation coefficient. According to spearman, this g factor was responsible for overall performance on mental ability tests. More recently, new hierarchical models of intelligence have emerged as well, including. Gardner defines intelligence in terms of multiple intelligences.
Charles spearman started his psychology career relatively late in life, beginning his ph. In his1904a paper, spearman put forth a scientific theory of general intelligence. The english psychologist, charles spearman 18631945, in 1904 proposed his theory of intelligence called twofactor theory. Charles spearmans model of intelligence and howard. Charles spearmans theory of intelligence explained hrf. Spearmans general intelligence other considerations. Spearmans theory of intelligence by agatha dellosde on prezi. This type of intelligence allows a person to process information eff ectively and think abstractly. Spearmans twofactor theory of intelligenceor of g as he preferred to symbolize the discovered general factorstates that any cognitive performance is a function of two factorsthe general ability common to most cognitive performances and an ability specific to a given test. Since then, other researchers have developed different models associated with multiple intelligences. Spearmans two factor theory of intelligence youtube. Instead of viewing intelligence as a single, general ability, thurstons theory focused on nine different primary factors.
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