Trends in the Measurement of General Mental Ability

Abstract

The emphasis during the last several years has been on the nature and determinants of intelligence rather than on the development of new measures of general mental ability. In an excellent book in which he leaned heavily on the work of Piaget, Hebb, Harlow, and others, Hunt (1961) synthesized several streams of theoretical formulations. After attacking the notions of fixed intelligence and predetermined development, Hunt presented a concept of intelligence based on a hierarchical organization of symbolic representations and information-processing strategies deriving to a considerable degree from past experience (p. 109). These representations and strategies change as the organism continuously interacts with its environment. The focus in this chapter will be upon some of the persistent issues in the measurement of general mental ability in light of the emerging concepts of intelligence.