thurstone theory of intelligence

intelligence theory

1. SEMESTER - 2 Advanced Educational Psychology- Learning and Development UNIT- 4 Intelligence Topic- Theories of Intelligence by Thurstone Presented By Gopika krishnan 1 st yr MEd MG University

2. What is Intelligence?

3. Think on Your Own… How do YOU define Intelligence ?

4. Is it the ability to use reason and logic? Is it the ability to write and speak clearly? Is it limited to one’s performance in school? Is it behavior in social situations? How about knowing when you’re wrong? There are many psychological theories about intelligence that we will examine in this module

5. What is Intelligence? The mental abilities that enable one to adapt to, shape, or select one’s environment The ability to judge, comprehend, and reason The ability to understand and deal with people, objects, and symbols The ability to act purposefully, think rationally, and deal effectively with the environment

6. Thurston ‘s group factor theory of intelligence The theory also known as Theory of primary mental abilities / mulitiple factor theory of intelligence / Factor analysis thoery of intelligence

7. Louis Leon Thurstone Born 29 May 1887 Chicago, Illinois Died 30 September 1955 (aged 68) Chapel Hill, North Carolina Nationality American Alma mater University of Chicago Cornell University Known for Multiple factor analysis Intelligence testing Law of comparative judgment Spouse(s) Thelma Thurstone Scientific career Fields Psychometrics Institutions L. L. Thurstone Psychometric Laboratory

8.  Louis Thurston came out with the group factor theory (1937) saying that Intelligence is a cluster of abilities  These mental operations then constitute a group  Each of them has its own primary factor  Each of these primary factors is said to be relatively independent of others  He pointed out that there were Seven Primary Mental Abilities and later on added two more . THURSTON’S GROUP FACTOR THEORY

9. According to him , intelligence is neither the projection of general abilities nor of specific factor . He talked about the primary mental abilities in mental activities . On the basis of factor analysis , he found that intelligence is comprised of 7 primary mental abilities. And later he added 2 more. Each of them independent of others

10. Seven Primary Mental Abilities Verbal comprehension Factor Verbal fluency Factor Numerical Factor Perceptual speed Factor Inductive reasoning Factor Spatial visualization Factor Memory Factor Deductive Reasoning (P) Problem solving ability factor (PS

11. Verbal comprehension Factor Concerns comprehension of verbal relations, words and ideas . The ability of grasping words , ideas,concepts and ideas This fa c tor in v ol v es a p e rs o n ’ s understand verbal material It is measured by tests such as vocabulary and reading comprehension.

12. Verbal fluency Factor This ability is involved in rapidly producing words, sentences, and other verbal material It is measured by tests such as one that requires the examinee to produce as many words as possible beginning with a particular letter in a short amount of time.

13. Numerical Factor This ability is invol v e d in rapid arith m etic computation and in solving simple arit h m etic problems Ability to do numerical calculations, rapidly and accurately

14. Perceptual speed Factor Speed in perceiving details of object using all five senses

15. This ability is involved in proofreading and in rapid recognition of letters and numbers  It is measured by tests such as those requiring the crossing out of As in a long string of letters or in tests requiring recognition of which of several pictures at the right is identical to the picture at the left.

16. Inductive reasoning Factor This ability requires generalization—reasoning from the specific to the general It is measured by tests, such as letter series, number series, and word classifications, in which the examinee must indicate which of several words does not belong with the others

17. Spatial visualization Factor This ability is involved in visualizing shapes, rotations of objects

18. Memory Factor Involving the ability to memorize quickly It means the ability to recall and associate previously learned items effectively or memorize quickly

19. Deductive Reasoning Ability to use the generalized results correctly Example A ll students eat biriyani . Ammu is a student at abc college. Therefore, ammu eat biriyani .

20. Problem solving ability factor ( PS) - Ability to solve problem independently.

21. 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.

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