Individual Difference in Intelligence
Intelligence
is the global capacity of an individual to act purposefully, to think
rationally, and to deal effectively with his environment. Wide individual
differences exist among human beings with regard to intelligence. Intelligence
seems to be distributed in the population in such a way that majority of people
are at the average, a few very bright and a few very dull. Study of human
intelligence shows that it is normally distributed in a random
population; and that measure of intelligence are distributed according to the principles
of normal probability curve. The number of individuals possessing
above average intelligence is the same as those possessing below average
intelligence and there is a maximum number of persons making the average score.
If
we consider the intelligence of a very large group of children of the same
grade, we shall find that the majority has and IQ between 90 and 110; a few
children will have their IQs between 110 and 120 on one side and an equal number
will have their IQs between 80 and 90 on the side. A fewer number will have IQ
between 120 and 140 on one side and an equal number will have IQ between 60 and
80 on the other side. Individual difference in intelligence is of three types:
(a) Individual difference in the unselected homogeneous group
(b) Individual difference between groups (between age levels, sexes,
nations, races etc.)
(c) Differences within an individual (from age to age and situation
to situation)
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