ABSTRACT
The first tests of intellectual development, those imagined by Binet or Wechsler, were not based on very elaborated theories of intelligence. The approach of these pioneers of psychometry was, of course, inspired by some general ideas on intelligence, but the way in which they searched for tasks likely to measure it was very empirical. Binet, for example, tried various items and retained those that discriminated well between mentally retarded and nonretarded children, between older from younger children, and good from not so good students. The construction of tests was guided by their empirical validity, in particular relating to criteria like academic performance, more than by their theoretical validity. “Psychometric” tests (i.e., intelligence scales or factorial batteries), are the product of this very empirical approach to the measurement of intelligence.
