2. Who started it?
Intelligence was first studied and demonstrated by Galton, who was the first
to show an interest and to attempt to measure it (Galton, 1869).
Galton felt that intelligent people show the ability to respond to a large range
of information experienced through the senses. People of low intelligence
have problems dealing with information gained through the senses and was
show less response to sensory information such as being able to distinguish
between heat and cold and being unable to recognise pain.
3. Next came the military
With the growing interest in intelligence and WW1 starting, various
psychologists and military personal took an interest. American Army officials
were in need of recruits and fast.
In 1917, Yerkes developed two tests known as the Army Alpha and Beta tests
which were used for screening over two million possible soldiers (McGuire,
1994).
4. Yerkes
The Army Alpha was designed as a written test, while the Army Beta
was administered orally in cases where recruits were unable to read.
The tests were administered to over two million soldiers in an effort to
help the army determine which men were well suited to specific
positions and leadership roles
5. Army Alpha test
The alpha test battery for literates included the testing of a variety of cognitive abilities by
examining the persons knowledge base in both oral and written language. The alpha test
included eight tests of individual ability to;
Follow oral directions, involving the comprehensions of simple and complex oral language
directions
Arithmetic
Show practical judgement, involving the ability to make the correct choice on a scenario
Use synonyms and antonyms, knowledge of the same and opposite words
Rearrange, disarranged sentences
Complete an uncompleted series of numbers (1,2,4,8,16,…)
See analogies, which require the ability to see similarity between two things that are
otherwise dissimilar
Demonstrate information, an examination of the persons everyday knowledge base
The administration was designed to be completed within a certain time
6. Army Beta test
The beta tests was an intelligence test comparable to the Alpha but freed from the influences of
literacy and the English language. Non-English speakers and people who had spoken the
language for less than 6 years were sent for Beta testing. Also those who had tried the Alpha
test but were considered to be poor readers were also sent for Beta testing. Instructions were
given by the tester and their aides by making hand signals. The examiners recorded their
responses. The Beta test included seven tests of ability in which the individual had to;
Complete a maze task
Complete a cube analysis, by counting cubes in a graphic representation
Read an X-O series of graphic displays in left to right sequences
Complete a test using digit symbols, requiring scanning and matching of numbers to symbols
Complete a test using number symbols, requiring matching of symbols to numbers
Complete a picture )like a (jigsaw)
Undertake geometrical construction, which involved working with graphics information and
mentally rearranging it to construct a figure
Administration of Beta testing was t be completed at a certain time
7. Interest spread to the Air force
and Navy
This interest in how intelligence could benefit the military soon spread from
the army to the air force (Driskell & Olmstead, 1989) and navy (Stearns &
Schwab, 1943), with means of rehabilitation (Young, 1999) and aids of shell
shock (Amith & Pearm, 1917).
8. Guilford's impact
Guilford tried to show that there are 150 different mental abilities that
constitute intelligence (Guilford, 1982), impacting both the military and
civilian world. Various researchers have criticised the statistical
techniques used by Guilford. According to Jensen (1998), Guilford's
contention that a g-factor was untenable was influenced by his
observation, that cognitive tests of American Air Force personnel did not
show correlations significantly different from zero. Reanalysis found that
the results occurred from methodological errors (Jensen ,1998). Carroll
(1993) summarised the view of later researchers and concluded that
Guilford's theory as a somewhat eccentric aberration in the history of
intelligence models. Guilford’s theory however did discover that
individuals have particular forms of intelligence which has useful
application in todays research intelligence and individual differences.
9. References
Carroll, J. B. (1993). Human Cognitive Abilities. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press
Driskell, J. E., & Olmstead, B. (1969). Psychology and the military. Research applications and trends. American psychologists, 22, 43-54
Galton, F. (1869). Hereditary Genius. London: Macmilan
Guilford, J.P. (1982). Cognitive psychology's ambiguities: Some suggested remedies. Psychological Review, 89, 48–59.
Jensen, A., R. (1998). The g Factor: The Science of Mental Ability. Westport, CT: Praeger.
McGuire, F. (1994). Army alpha and beta tests of intelligence. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Encyclopedia of intelligence. New York: Macmillan
Young, A .(1999). W.H.R. Rivers and the war neuroses. Journal of the histaryof the behavioursal sciences, 35, 359-378.
Smith, G. E., & Pearm T. H. (1917). Shell shock and its lessons. Manchester, UK: Manchester at the University Press.
Stearns, A. W., & Schwab, R. S (1943). Five hundred neuro-psychiatric casualties at a naval hospital. Journal of the Manine Medical
Association, 32, 81-89.
