ABSTRACT
This chapter starts with the question of intelligence, because although it may be less fashionable for psychologists to be required to produce IQs on children, the specter of intelligence is always hovering behind the current celebrity culture which dictates that every child is a failure if they are not a star. The subject of intelligence is a central aspect of life. The Wechsler intelligence scale for children (WISC) was the author's main piece of test equipment in dealing with educational problems and it was invaluable for the comprehensive picture it afforded of the way a child functioned across the board. The early history of intelligence testing was based on the idea of a global capacity, but this has tended to give way to the idea of multiple intelligences particularly as developed by Howard Gardner in the 1980s. The concept of global intelligence also lends itself to racist and classist comparisons.
