Group factor

Group factor

1. THEORIES OF INTELLIGENCE- GROUP FACTOR

2. THURSTON’S GROUP FACTOR THEORY Louis Thurston came out with the group factor theory(1937) saying that Intelligence is a cluster of abilities. Thurston proposed that certain mental operations have common primary factor which gives them psychological and functional unity which differentiates them from other mental operations

3. These mental operations constitute a group factor. So there are a number of groups of mental abilities and each of these groups has its own primary factor. Thurston and his associates have identified nine such factors. They are as follows:

4. 1. Verbal factor Concerns comprehension of verbal relations, words and ideas.

5. 2. Spatial factor(S) Involved in any task in which the subject manipulates an object imaginatively in space

6. 3. Numerical factor (N) Ability to do numerical calculations, rapidly and accurately.

7. 4. Memory factor (M) Involving the ability to memorize quickly.

8. 5. Word Fluency Factor (W) It is involved whenever the subject is asked to think of isolated words at a rapid rate.

9. 6. Inductive reasoning factor (RI) It is the ability to draw inferences or conclusions on the basis of specific instances.

10. 7. Deductive reasoning factor (RD) It is the ability to make use of generalized results.

11. 8. Perceptual factor (P) It is the ability to perceive objects accurately.

12. 9. Problem-solving ability factor (PS) It is the ability to solve problems with independent efforts.

13. EDUCATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPLICATIONS Contributed greatly to the measurement of attitudes. ‘Thurston scale’ developed in 1928 was the first formal techniques for measuring of attitudes Thurston’s theory of intelligence was a major influence on later theories of multiple intelligences, such as those of Guilford, Gardner, and Sternberg.

14. Limitation The weakest aspect of the group factor theory was that it discarded the concept of the common factor.

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