The measurement of intelligence : $b an explanation of and a complete guide for the use of the Standard revision and extension of the Binet-Simon intelligence scaleTerman, Lewis M. (Lewis Madison)
Science
The measurement of intelligence : $b an explanation of and a complete guide for the use of the Standard revision and extension of the Binet-Simon intelligence scale
About 40 replies were received. Most of the answers to the first
question were vague, one-sided, "verbal," or bookish. Only a few showed
much psychological discrimination as to what intelligence is and
what its symptoms are. There was a very general tendency to judge
intelligence by success in one or more of the school studies. Some
thought that ability to master arithmetic was a sure criterion. Others
were influenced almost entirely by the pupil's ability to read. One
teacher said that the child who can "read so expressively as to make you
feel the punctuation" is certainly intelligent, an observation which is
rather good, as far as it goes. A few judged intelligence by the pupil's
knowledge of such subjects as history and geography, which, as Binet
points out, is to confound intelligence with the ability to memorize.
"Memory," says Binet, is a "great simulator of intelligence." It is a
wise teacher who is not deceived by it. Only a small minority mentioned
resourcefulness in play, capacity to adjust to practical situations, or
any other out-of-school criteria.
Some suggested asking the pupil such questions as the following:--
"Why do you love your parents?" "If it takes three persons seven
hours to do a piece of work, would it take seven persons any
longer?" "Which would you rather have, a fourth of a pie, or a
half of a half?" "Which is heavier, a pound of feathers or a
pound of lead?" "If you had twenty cents what would you do with
it?"
A great many based their judgment mainly on the general appearance of
the face and eyes. An "active" or "passive" expression of the eyes was
looked upon as especially significant. One teacher thought that a mere
"glance of the eye" was sufficient to display the grade of intelligence.
If the eyes are penetrating, reflective, or show curiosity, the child
must be intelligent; if they are heavy and expressionless, he must be
dull. The mobility of countenance came in for frequent mention, also the
shape of the head.
No one will deny that intelligence displays itself to a greater or
less extent in the features; but how, asks Binet, are we going to
_standardize_ a "glance of the eye" or an "expression of curiosity" so
that it will serve as an exact measure of intelligence?
The fact is, the more one sees of feeble-minded children, the less
reliance one comes to place upon facial expression as a sign of
intelligence. Some children who are only slightly backward have the
general appearance of low-grade imbeciles. On the other hand, not a few
who are distinctly feeble-minded are pretty and attractive. With many
such children a ready smile takes the place of comprehension. If the
smile is rather sweet and sympathetic, as is often the case, the
observer is almost sure to be deceived.
As regards the shape of the head, peculiar conformation of the ears, and
other "stigmata," science long ago demonstrated that these are
ordinarily of little or no significance.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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