overall adjustment but that contained only items
dealing with adjustment at work would not have
content validity because it failed to include items
dealing with adjustment at home, with friends,
and in other contexts.Predictive validityis demon-
strated when test scores accurately predict some
behavior or event in the future. A test designed to
predict school success is valid if scores today reflect
the school achievement behavior of children 2 years
hence.Concurrent validityinvolves relating today’s
test scores to a concurrent criterion (e.g., teachers’
judgments of school success). Finally,construct valid-
ityis shown when test scores relate to other mea-
sures or behaviors in a logical, theoretically
expected fashion. For example, suppose we have a
test for alienation. Given the nature of alienation, a
valid test of it might be expected to correlate with
lack of vigor or even depression. If our test does
that, our confidence in its construct validity is
increased.
Definitions of Intelligence
So what should intelligence tests measure? In one
sense, intelligence tests are achievement tests because
they measure what one has learned (Sternberg et al.,
2005). There is no universally accepted definition of
intelligence (Wasserman & Tulsky, 2005). However,
over the years, most have fallen into one of three
classes:
- Definitions that emphasize adjustment or
adaptation to the environment—adaptability to
new situations, the capacity to deal with a
range of situations. - Definitions that focus on the ability to learn—
on educability in the broad sense of the term. - Definitions that emphasize abstract thinking—
the ability to use a wide range of symbols and
concepts, the ability to use both verbal and
numerical symbols.
To illustrate a little of the long-standing diver-
sity of definitions, consider the following examples:
■ [Intelligence is] the aggregate or global capacity
of the individual to act purposefully, to think
rationally, and to deal effectively with his
environment. (Wechsler, 1939, p. 3)
■ As a concept, intelligence refers to the whole
class of cognitive behaviors which reflect an
individual’s capacity to solve problems with
insight, to adapt himself to new situations, to
think abstractly, and to profit from his experi-
ence. (Robinson & Robinson, 1965, p. 15)
■ Intelligence is a very general mental capability that,
among other things, involves the ability to reason,
plan, solve problems, think abstractly, compre-
hend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from
experience. It is not merely book learning, a
narrow academic skill, or test-taking smarts.
Rather, it reflects a broader and deeper capability
for comprehending our surroundings—“catching
on,”“making sense”of things, or“figuring out”
what to do. (Arvey et al., 1994)
■ Intelligence is defined in terms of the ability to
achieve success in life in terms of one’s personal
standards, within one’s socio-cultural context.
(Sternberg, 2003, p. 141)
The foregoing classes of and specific definitions
of intelligence are not mutually exclusive. Further-
more, several of these definitions contain distinct
overtones of both social values and motivational
elements. Beyond this, however, many definitions
of intelligence are so broad or general as to be
nearly useless. In many ways, there is an overall
sameness to tests of intelligence that belies their
origins in diverse definitions. Thus, one begins to
wonder whether definitions really make all that
much difference or whether constructing IQ tests
is just an atheoretical, pragmatic enterprise in which
we generate items that we hope will correlate with
some external criterion (e.g., school grades).Theories of Intelligence
There have been many theoretical approaches to
the understanding of intelligence. These include
psychometric theories, developmental theories,
neuropsychological theories, and information-
processing theories (Deary, Penke, & Johnson,
2010; Flanagan & Harrison, 2005; Hunt, 2011;THE ASSESSMENT OF INTELLIGENCE 197