Intelligence Testing

Amy E. Luckner & Richard A. Weinberg

Intelligence testing is the process of sampling behavior thought to represent the construct of intelligence in order to obtain an indicator of intellectual functioning. The types of behavior sampled usually include problem solving, reasoning, abstract thinking, and acquired knowledge, although the specific behaviors sampled vary depending on which measure of intellectual ability is used (Sattler, 2001). Near the end of the 19th century, many psychologists became interested in mental abilities and their measurement. Psychologists researched intelligence with a variety of goals, including the study of heredity, the examination of individual differences in behavior, and the development of statistical methods for test data. Alfred Binet, who studied intelligence to determine individual levels of intellectual functioning, is often credited with developing the first practical intelligence test. Binet, along with Victor Henri and Theodore Simon, developed the Binet-Simon Scale in 1905 in response to the French government's request for a systematic method to ...

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