The Science of Intelligence Testing

Abstract

Intelligence has been defined in multiple ways throughout history. In the last 100 years a psychometric approach to define the concept of intelligence has come to dominate the concept. This Commentary provides a brief overview of the history and concepts of intelligence with an emphasis on intellectual assessment. Particular focus is placed on the last 20 years reflecting substantial improvements in the quality of intellectual measures. An argument is made that although confirmatory factor analysis is one way to interpret and understand the Wechsler Scales, another way is to begin with a clearly articulated theory of intellect and to create an instrument designed and validated to fit that theory. Although application of a confirmatory factor analysis to the Wechsler Scales can generate alternate or additional factors that may be interpreted in light of other theories of intelligence such as Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC), the opinion is offered that the articles in this issue of JPA offer compelling data that Wechsler’s vision was and is still vibrant and valuable.