It's nice to communicate with a smart person who can support any topic, joke in time and become serious. Such people are said to have a high level of intelligence. What is this concept and what are its levels?
Intelligence level - what is it?
Intelligence is characterized as a certain quality of the human psyche, which allows him to adapt to changing conditions of life. It also lies in the ability to learn something new, to understand and apply their knowledge and experience. The level of intelligence is a certain coefficient, expressed in a quantitative assessment of a person's ability to adapt to new living conditions.
Wechsler test
Many scientists have been involved in determining the level of intelligence, but the Wechsler scale has been especially popular lately. Developed in 1939, it allows you to determine aspects of the intellectual characteristics of a child and an adult in the range from three to seventy-four years. Wexler's tests are based on a hierarchical intellectual model, the top of which is verbal and practical (non-verbal) intelligence.
The history of the emergence of criteria for determining mental development in the test
In 1939, the first version of the scale appeared - Bellevue, where "Bellevue" is the name of the clinic. The proposed Wexler tests were designed to diagnose the intellectual abilities of people from seven to 69 years of age. D. Wexler criticized the tests used at that time, the main of which was the Stanford-Binet test. He considered them unsuitable for the study of the adult category of people, since they have a high-speed orientation, which is difficult for the elderly. Also in the existing tests there were primitive operations aimed more at children's age.
Its Features
A characteristic feature of this testing method is the ability to cover a wide range of ages, and a separate Wechsler test is a children's version that gives a specific description of the child's intellectual inclinations and reveals patterns of intelligence development. In addition, the results obtained during testing are taken into account by psychiatrists for the correct diagnosis.
What are the modifications of this technique?
Wexler made a combination of subtests by content and difficulty levels. And mental IQ redirected to age.
W-B (Wechsler-Bellevue Adult Intelligence Scales) - it was rather an intellectual scale for adults. It has been revised twice. As a result, in 1949, the Wechsler WAIS tests, that is, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, saw the light. itthere was already a standardized technique, which was distributed according to sex and age characteristics. Of these, 1,700 of the subjects were aged 16 to 64 years, and 475 were aged 60 and over. When standardizing, not only age was taken into account, but also professional status and education. The final scale is designed for a range of ten to sixty years. The main subtest criteria are:
- high correlation with other tests;
- a difference in function, which excludes the specific influence of certain abilities or their absence;
- possibility of certain conclusions according to test results.
Today, three types of diagnostics are used: the WAIS test (adults from 16 to 64 years old), WISC (children and adolescents 6.5-16.5 years old) and WPPSI (children 4-6.5 years old). For the Russian Federation, only the first two have been adapted: WAIS and WISC.
Dough blocks
This technique includes 2 blocks:
- verbal, consisting of 6 subtests;
- nonverbal – 5 subtests.
In the first block, general competence (awareness), quick wits (understanding), arithmetic, similarity (similarity), repetition of numbers, dictionary are examined. And non-verbal include research in the field of missing details, sequential pictures, use Kos cubes, add figures, use encryption. All tasks are given in order of increasing difficulty from level to level. In terms of time, testing takes one hour for the ward and another one for processing the results. When conductingtake into account the age category, as there is a separate Wexler test - a children's version, and a separate one - for adults.
What counts in the test results?
To summarize, it is necessary to carry out three levels of processing and interpretation of the results. The first level is the analysis of marks of general, verbal and non-verbal intelligence. The second is the study of the results with the calculation of the corresponding coefficient, the estimated profile of the tasks performed. At the third stage, the interpretation of the individual profile takes place, taking into account the behavior of the ward during the examination and other diagnostic data. Similarly to an adult, they process the Wechsler test for preschoolers, analyzing the results of the assigned tasks.
Using the classical variant to obtain the result, the specialist calculates the first "wet" estimates of each study. After that, he sums up the scores from the tables that correspond to the task, converts them into typical ones, and displays them as a profile. Verbal scores and non-verbal scores must be added separately, then indicators should be determined based on the general IQ tables.
Description of the Vechsler technique scales
Verbal and non-verbal scales are included in the methodology. The first includes the following indicators:
1. The General Awareness Scale consists of 29 questions that need to be answered. This is the diagnosis of the level of simple knowledge, without special theoretical training. Correct, one pointwrong answers are not counted.
2. The comprehension scale contains 14 tasks for studying the semantic load of expressions and the ability to reason. Correctness grades - from zero to two points.
3. Arithmetic consists of 14 tasks from the course of arithmetic science of elementary education. The test is oral, the attentiveness of the specialist who conducts the examination is important here. He looks at ease of handling data and time span.
4. Find the similarity of objects - 13 tasks to identify a common category of objects. Understanding is important in this block. Grades from zero to two.
5. Memorize numbers - rows of 3-9 numbers (listen and verbally repeat) and 2-8 numbers that are played in reverse order.
6. The vocabulary consists of 42 concepts. At the same time, verbal experience, conceptuality, meaningfulness are studied. Ten words in this block are taken from the everyday language of communication, twenty have an average level of complexity, 12 of them are abstract and theoretical concepts. Ratings here are set from zero to two for one option.
Wechsler's adult test is a variant of non-verbal intelligence assessment. It includes 5 actions:
- Character data (encryption) - 100 digits for 1.5 minutes.
- Finishing the drawings - 21 pieces (20 minutes).
- Coss Hexahedrons (40 dice) - assemble a blueprint from dice.
- Sequence - 8 series of cards.
- Collecting objects from shapes - 4 tasks.
The result of an intelligence test using a technique such as the Wechsler test for children depends on the overall culture formedchild and his school performance. Task performance is related to general IQ but is also determined by genetics. From this it follows that the speed of acquiring verbal skills and knowledge will determine his success and level of education.
Explanation of results
The most interesting moment in any test is the time of deciphering the results. This applies to all methods, because a person is interested to know why he spent so much time and what he is like within the framework of the chosen topic.
The Wechsler test for intelligence also suggests a certain gradation of results. This characteristic of mental development is considered here in the following ranges:
- More than high intelligence - score 130.
- High – 120-129.
- Good - 110-119.
- Medium - 90-109.
- Bad - 80-89.
- Boundary zone - 70-79.
- Low (mental defect) - up to 69.
Features of the children's version of the test
The Diagnostic Scale for School-aged Children (6, 5-16, 5 years) includes twelve WAIS-compliant subtests, but with easier and more similar-type tasks and a maze subtest.
Wexler's tests for preschoolers are different in that "comprehension" is replaced by "remembering numbers", and "maze" is replaced by "coding". During the experiment, the verbal and non-verbal parts alternate so that the child can easily learn the tasks and complete them. Additional studies are not taken into account for calculating IQ.
The "maze" subtest consists of tasks that gradually increase in difficulty. For this, a certain time is provided (to find a way out), after which errors are counted.
In 1967, the WPPSI version was released, consisting of 11 subtests, of which one is auxiliary. Eight of them are lightweight and have been adapted to WISC, and the remaining three are brand new. Diagnosis by this technique can be carried out in two stages.
Verbal block includes: competence, vocabulary, arithmetic ability, similarity, awareness and sentences.
The scale of actions of this modification of the test includes: a house for an animal, completion of drawings, labyrinths, geometric schemes, construction of blocks - Koss hexahedra.
"Sentences" in this block have been replaced with "character memorization", which are taken from WISC, they are either replaced by any verbal test, or used additionally.
The "Animal House" subtest is taken instead of the "cipher" from WISC and consists of cards with images of a dog, a chicken, a fish and a cat. The child arranges the houses according to the key.
Terms and conditions
In the procedure for studying the intellectual sphere of children, testing begins only after the motivation of the ward. Then only the children's Wexler test will show real results. At the same time, it is necessary to try to set the child positively, using a smile and creating a positive attitude.
The child is notshould feel like on an exam. The entrance to testing must be in a playful way. Questions are formulated clearly and precisely. All responses, except those that are clearly negative, should be encouraged. Unsuccessful answers are amortized, and when the child is silent, the specialist should stimulate him to answer. They do not move on to the next task until they receive an answer to the previous one. In case of contradictions, it is necessary to give the correct option to choose the leading question "how?". Additional questions in this case are inappropriate, as they put children in a difficult situation.
It is also possible that the child does the task incorrectly. Then the testing psychologist should pretend not to notice this and invite the child to think about the answer to the next question. After success in the next answer, the subject is invited to return to the previous question again.
The approach to young people over the age of 16 when they take the adult Wechsler test is absolutely identical to that of children, with slight adjustments for age.
Interpretation of non-verbal indicators of the children's test version
IQ (Wechsler test) is analyzed using coefficients. It is important to pay special attention to the improvement of non-verbal components in a child. Many scientists believe that non-verbal diagnostics is much more powerful.
It must be taken into account that the result of testing in childhood can change significantly if the living conditions, upbringing and education of the child change. The template technique is not fully capableshow the intelligence of the individual, because it does not take into account the dynamic aspects of the development of mental abilities. It's fair to say that high IQ is not genius. It often happens that people of high intelligence are invisible to society, while those with average intelligence achieve great professional success. The fact is that success depends on a specific intellect, originality of thinking, the strength of striving for a goal, and other things. It is impossible to categorically speak on the basis of the test results about the intellectual potential, the limit of the child's development. This is morally unacceptable.
Correctness in the description of test results
Precisely for this reason, a certain softness is required from a psychologist in describing results that show a low intellectual level. The interpretation of the Wexler test suggests a different outcome of the technique. When it comes time to announce the results, the specialist should do this without a hint of a low level of intelligence, giving hope to a person, advising him to develop further without stopping there.
