Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

4-25-2025

Keywords

cognitive processes, general intelligence factor, hierarchical models of intelligence, multi-factor model

Disciplines

Developmental Psychology

Abstract

Within the field of psychology, intelligence is usually defined using a psychometric approach. This approach relies on the use of psychological measurement, or standardized tests, to objectively measure the cognitive processes and skills of an individual and compare them to the processes and skills of a norm group that represents the general population. Historically, psychologists who studied human intelligence fell into two major groups. One group, which included psychologists such as Charles Spearman, Phillip Vernon, and John Carroll, favored a single general factor comprised of a variety of specific factors to explain intelligence. The second group, which included psychologists such as Edward Thorndike, Louis Thurstone, Raymond Cattell and John Horn, favored a multi-factor model of intelligence. This group maintained that intelligence is a composite of several different and independent abilities. Current hierarchical models of intelligence represent a merging of these early views of intelligence. They propose that overall intelligence can be measured as a single factor, but multiple distinct and measurable factors that uniquely contribute to an individual’s overall ability.

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