Explain the difference between general intelligence and specific intelligence.

Intelligence is a broad term used to describe the mind of a person. It is a person’s capability to think, to solve problems, to reason out things, to study, to understand and to use language. It is just the depiction of personality, knowledge, creativity, performance, wisdom of an individual. The various theories related to intelligence are classified based on varied intelligences. General intelligence theory was introduced by Charles Darwin.

IQ stands for intelligence quotient. Intelligence is just a broad term whereas IQ is used to describe the calculated value of a person’s mind. There are various tests done to know the intelligence of a person and then the IQ score is calculated. This was introduced by William Stern from Germany. The various tests conducted to assess the IQ are Wechsler adult intelligence scale and Gaussian bell curve. The factors which influence the IQ of a person is mortality and morbidity, parental IQ, social status of parents and substantial degree. There are no such factors present for intelligence.

IQ is calculated using the score achieved in an intelligence test. It can be calculated as a ratio by a formula. It states IQ = MA/CA x 100, where IQ is an intelligent quotient, CA is the chronological age and MA is the mental age.

There is no such formula for intelligence instead there is intelligence test being conducted. There are various problems with the intelligence test and hence should not be conducted when there is a need to decide major decisions like a child’s education and career. The results will vary and are not correct. Hence, dependence on intelligence test should not be done to assess the intelligence.

There are various types of intelligence like numerical, verbal, reasoning, perceptual speed, fluency, musical, linguistic, spatial, intrapersonal, logical-mathematical, interpersonal and so on. The person is also well versed according to the type of intelligence whereas there are no such types of intelligence quotient.

The IQ test is done to determine the type of intelligence of an individual. Hence, both are interconnected. These IQ tests determine mostly the mathematical knowledge and literacy of a person where as other skills like dance, art, music, cooking, foreign languages, defeating an enemy in war, caring for a baby are all not enhanced in this IQ tests whereas intelligence determines all skills of an individual and classifies them accordingly.

IQ tests concentrate mostly on civilization and their importance whereas intelligence concentrates on everything like religion, law, philosophy, science, economy and technology.

It might seem useless to define such a simple word. After all, we have all heard this word hundreds of times and probably have a general understanding of its meaning. However, the concept of intelligence has been a widely debated topic among members of the psychology community for decades.

Intelligence has been defined in many ways: higher level abilities (such as abstract reasoning, mental representation, problem solving, and decision making), the ability to learn, emotional knowledge, creativity, and adaptation to meet the demands of the environment effectively.

Psychologist Robert Sternberg defined intelligence as "the mental abilities necessary for adaptation to, as well as shaping and selection of, any environmental context (1997, p. 1)

A Brief History of Intelligence

A Brief History of Intelligence

The study of human intelligence dates back to the late 1800s when Sir Francis Galton (the cousin of Charles Darwin) became one of the first people to study intelligence.

Galton was interested in the concept of a gifted individual, so he created a lab to measure reaction times and other physical characteristics to test his hypothesis that intelligence is a general mental ability that is a produce of biological evolution (hello, Darwin!).

Galton theorized that because quickness and other physical attributes were evolutionarily advantageous, they would also provide a good indication of general mental ability (Jensen, 1982).

Thus, Galton operationalized intelligence as reaction time.

Operationalization is an important process in research that involves defining an unmeasurable phenomenon (such as intelligence) in measurable terms (such as reaction time), allowing the concept to be studied empirically (Crowthre-Heyck, 2005).

Galton’s study of intelligence in the laboratory setting and his theorization of the heritability of intelligence paved the way for decades of future research and debate in this field.

Theories of Intelligence

Theories of Intelligence

Some researchers argue that intelligence is a general ability, whereas others make the assertion that intelligence comprises specific skills and talents. Psychologists contend that intelligence is genetic, or inherited, and others claim that it is largely influenced by the surrounding environment.

As a result, psychologists have developed several contrasting theories of intelligence as well as individual tests that attempt to measure this very concept.

Spearman’s General Intelligence (g)

General intelligence, also known as g factor, refers to a general mental ability that, according to Spearman, underlies multiple specific skills, including verbal, spatial, numerical and mechanical.

Charles Spearman, an English psychologist, established the two-factor theory of intelligence back in 1904 (Spearman, 1904). To arrive at this theory, Spearman used a technique known as factor analysis.

Factor analysis is a procedure through which the correlation of related variables are evaluated to find an underlying factor that explains this correlation.

In the case of intelligence, Spearman noticed that those who did well in one area of intelligence tests (for example, mathematics), also did well in other areas (such as distinguishing pitch; Kalat, 2014).

In other words, there was a strong correlation between performing well in math and music, and Spearman then attributed this relationship to a central factor, that of general intelligence (g).

Spearman concluded that there is a single g-factor which represents an individual’s general intelligence across multiple abilities, and that a second factor, s, refers to an individual’s specific ability in one particular area (Spearman, as cited in Thomson, 1947).

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