ABSTRACT
This chapter starts by taking a look at the various meanings given to the term ‘intelligence’, then briefly examines some ‘models’ which researchers have devised—various views of the form and structure of intelligence. Vernon and others would argue strongly that any definition of intelligence must take into account the culture in which an individual is reared. That is, intelligence is inextricably interwoven with the beliefs, values, language, concepts and orientations of a particular group or race of people. Burt and Vernon modified Spearman’s model—all British workers. Some Americans, however, refused to accept the notion of general intelligence, and preferred to work with multiple-models on the whole. Large criticisms can be made of the test-based approach to the study of intelligence, and they are largely concerned with the over-reliance on tests and statistical techniques in describing a person at a particular point in time and, moreover, in predicting the person’s probable status at some future time.
