Alfred Binet is a key figure in
the history of intelligence
testing, and he is well-known
for introducing the concept
of "mental age." Mental age
was a pivotal concept in the
development of the first
intelligence test, known as the Binet-Simon scale,
which Binet and his colleague, Theodore Simon,
created in the early 20 th century.
The primary aim of the Binet-Simon scale was to
measure a child's intelligence in a way that went
beyond simple chronological age. Binet recognized
that children of the same age could vary significantly
in their cognitive abilities. Therefore, he introduced
the concept of mental age as a means to assess a
child's intellectual development relative to their
chronological age.
Here's how the concept of mental age worked:
Chronological Age (CA): This is the actual age
of the child, measured in years and months.
Mental Age (MA): Mental age is an
assessment of a child's intellectual abilities. It is
determined by the performance of the child on a
series of standardized tasks and questions. For
example, if a 6 - year-old child performs at the level
of the average 8 - year-old on the test, their mental
age would be 8.
Intelligence Quotient (IQ): Binet introduced
the concept of the intelligence quotient, which is
calculated as follows:
Alfred Binet: the 'mental age