ABSTRACT
Psychometric theory and practice can hardly be accused of an excessive indulgence in fashions. However, even in these fields there have been pendulum swings between opposed positions, which have tended to dominate theories, methods, and modes of practice for longer periods of time. Two such extreme positions are readily identified within the psychometric field. According to one of these, theory and practice are best served if one broad, general, cognitive ability is emphasized; the other position maintains, in contrast, that approaches that allow for a wide array of narrow specialized abilities are necessary.
