Question

How do psychologists characterise and define intelligence?

Answer 1

Psychological motion of intelligence is quite different from the common sensed motion of intelligence.

Generally people saw intelligence as mental alertness, ready art, quickness in learning and ability to understand relationships.

Oxford dictionary explained intelligence as the power of perceiving, learning understanding and knowing.

Accordingly Alfred Binet also used these attributes and defined intelligence as ability to judge well, understand well and reason well.Later Wechsler gave a comprehensive definition in terms of its functionality, i.e., its value for adaptation to environment. He defined intelligence as “the global and aggregate capacity of an individual to think rationally, act purposefully and to deal effectively with his/her environment.”

Present day psychologists such as Gardner and Sternberg emphasized that “Intelligent individual not only adapts to the environment, but actively modifies or shapes it.”

Sternberg views intelligence as “the ability to adapt, to shape and select environment to accomplish ones goals and those of ones society and culture.”