G R O UP T E ST S O F
I N T E L LI G E N C E
BY
PH I L I P B O S W O O D
M
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a
or
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ME NT AL
A
r zs r s ,
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BA LLAR D
D LI T
t u c um o m g
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MOT HER
HAN D W OR K AS A N E D UCAT I ON AL ME DI UM,
"
T ON GUE
"
ET C .
H O DD E R AN D S T O UGHT O N LT D
T ORONT O
LONDON
M W
YO R K
.
P R EFA C E
T H E R E is an old proverb which says that an ounce
of mother wit is worth a pound of clergy
wit
being the old English word for intelligence and
clergy the old English word for learning And
examiners have always been under the reproach of
being unabl e to separate the wit from the clergy :
they cannot tell us how much of a candidate s
success at an examination is due t o good brains
and how much is due t o good opportunities It is
the b u siness of mental t e sts to remove this reproach
For it is the business of mental tests to extract the
element of wit from the compound of wit and
clergy That they do their work imperfectly is
readily admitted ; but they are doing it better
every day ; and so important is the task that it is
better to do it badly than not to do it at a ll
There are people wh o think otherwise people
wh o believe that it is better not t o d o it at all
They sa y that mental testing is an attempt t o bring
exactitude into a realm which is essentially vague
and indeterminate They seek refuge in the plea
that teaching is n ot a science but an art that the
teacher is n ot a theorist deali n g with abstractions
but a craftsman whose workshop is the classroom
and whose material is the plastic mind of childhood
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P R EFACE
vi
B ut they find no real refuge there ; for th ey are
there exposed to the charge of refusing to learn
about the material on which they exercise th eir
craft No other crafts m an is so indi ff erent or
being indi ff erent would care to confess it The
weaver is curious about his staple and the potter
about his clay ; for the wares they turn out are in
accord with the materials on which they work
And no b ody would think of blaming the weaver
who failed t o make a silk purse out of a sow s ear
or the potter who failed to make a porcelain vase
out of a lump of co m mon clay Indeed he wo uld
blame them for trying And y e t it is not so v ery
long a g o that the results of teaching little children
were a ll measured by t h e same scale and paid for at
the same rate in total disreg a rd of those children s
natural gifts Silk purses and porcelain vases were
expected everywhere The parable of t h e tal ents
—
was read on S undays and forgotten on week days
Applied to the classroo m the parable means that
—
the critic even if that critic be the teacher hi m s elf
—
or the pupil hi m self cannot j ustly j udge the fruit
of the t e acher s labo u rs witho u t taking into acco u nt
And to
t h e fertility of the fi eld in which he works
discover the fertility of the fi eld in which he works
is the aim and purpose of m ental tests
In my book on Mental Tests I described certain
methods of testing intellig ence individually and
certain methods of testing attainments collectively
In this book I confine myself al m ost entirely to t h e
—
testing of intelligence collectively a mode of
ment a l testing with which the teacher will fe el
quite at home for it is akin to the ordinary written
examination Akin t o it but not identical with it
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P R EFACE
vii
The testing nee d s care but does not need a special
psych ological training
Certain readers of Men ta l Test: have expressed a
wish th at I should extend my chapter on statistical
theory so a s t o include an account of correlation
and probable error Th at Wish is met in this book
My own contributions t o the public stock of
—
mental tests will be found in Chapters X I I XV
Teachers who wish t o use these tests of mine are at
perfect li b erty t o d o so Though it is possible for
the m by a manifolding process to prepare copies
for themselves they will find it more convenient
and scarcely more expensive t o purchase printed
copies from th e publishers of this book The
booklets di ffer from the American booklets in one
important respect : they c a n be used over and
over aga i n
The above remarks do n ot apply t o t h e Northum
berland Tests which are the property of Messrs
George G Harrap
From them may
C o Ltd
be purchased copies not only of these tests but also
of t h e following tests to which I h ave referred in
this book : Th e Terman Group Test of Mental
Ability the Otis Group Intelligence S c ale the
Nation a l Intellige n ce Tests and the Simplex Group
Intelli gence Scale I owe a debt of gratitude t o
these pub lishers f or permission t o quo t e freely from
their tests
I also ac knowledge my indebtedness t o Messrs
Sidgwick
ackson
of
London
and
Messrs
t
o
J
Henry Holt
C o of New Y ork for allowing me
t o cite examples from their excellent little book
Men ta l Tex t: in tb a A merica n Army b y C S
Yoakum and R M Yerke s
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P R E FACE
viii
My personal obligations make a formidable list
I o ff er my special thanks t o Professor Godfrey H
Thomson f or h is kindness in a llowing me t o repro
duce h is Northum b erland Tests ; t o Dr C S Myers
f or permission t o quote from t wo articles which
in the B ri t if b 7ourna l of Pry cb ology
a pp e ared
Professor Thomson s on the Northumberland Tests
and my own on th e Limit of the Growth of I n t elli
gence t o Dr Myers again for kindly lendi n g me a
number of American tests in his possession ; t o
Professor C Spearman for a similar kindness ; to
Dr William Garnett his son Dr
C Maxwell
Garnett and my colleague Capt a in
Brown for
extremely helpful criticisms and suggestions on the
cha ters on Correlation and Pro b able Error ; t o Mr
XWilliamson f or preparing some of the figures
f or the press for improving on my rough drawings
f or the Picture Test and adding a few original draw
ings of h is own ; t o my brother in law Mr R D
B artlett f or getting the diagrams ready for r e pro
duction t o Dr Leonard P Ayres and Dr W
Franklin J ones f or permission t o reproduce their
lists of spellings t o th e f ollowing teacher s for help
in standardising the tests : Messrs
G Robson
A E Ro b erts
S cott T Lea G J ones and
W A Watson and finally to my wife f or correcting
the proofs except those of the two statistical
chapters where sh e begged t o b e excused on the
plea t hat the su b j ect matter of those chapters could
by no possi b ility engage the interest of a rational
being
P B B ALLAR D
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Ca rswrc x ,
A ril,
p
1 92 2 .
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C O N T EN T S
P AG E
P R E FA C E
GE
II
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I II
IV
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VI
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V II
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V
II I
IX
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N
E
XI I
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C HA R A C T E R S T C S
I N S T R U CT I O N S
TE ST S
1
4
2
3
2
9
A N AL O G I E S
T HE
ME AN I N G
OF
W
T HE
ME AN I N G
OF
SE
AR I T H M E T I C A N D
O RD S
N
TE
N CE S
LO GI C
A B S U RD I T I E S
G E N E RAL
TE ST S
GRO U P
XI
I I
RA L
T HE
A
F OR
N OW L
I
NG
N O R H UM
T
RE
E
DGE
L L I T E RAT E S
T E ST I
P I CT U
T HE
K
IN E
BE
N G LA N D
RLA N D M E N TAL
TE ST
L M B I A N M E N TAL
CO U
TE S T S
T E ST S
CO NTENTS
HE
X IV
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T
XV
.
T HE
XV I
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W
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T HE
X V II
XV III
XIX
XX
XXI
XXII
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HA
C H E L S E A M E N TAL
C R I C H TO N
T
I
Is
T E ST
N LL
TE
L I M ITS
1 13
TE ST S
OF
I
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GE N C E
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1 35
LL I G E N C E
C O RR E L AT I O N
P
R O B AB L E
T HE
USE S
M E N T AL
S PE
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1
6
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1 62
RRO R
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G R OUP T E S T S
T E ST S A N D
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HOOL
6
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RGA N I S AT I O N
22 1
LL I N G D E M O N S
2
36
EX
2
0
5
G R O UP T E S T S O F
I NT E LLI G E N C E
CHAPTER I
GENE RAL
C
H ARA C T E R I S T I C S
W HE N the fate of a young Child hangs upon the
issue or whenever there is need f or punctilious care
in ma king a diagnosis the tests applied are always
—
individual tests individual and v im vow Th ey
are always either the Binet tests or a revision of
the Binet tests ; and the Binet scheme of testing
is t h e old v im v ow exa mination with a di ff erence
The Whirligig of time h a s here turned th e most
careless and casual form of examination into th e
most accurate and rigid At the old fashioned
v iva 2106 6 the examiner trusted t o the inspiration of
the moment He did n ot prepare his questions h e
d id n ot sta n dardise his material he did n ot put
the same tests t o all th e candidates He had
theref ore n o ground for the comparison of candidat e
with candidate ; nor had he a scale of values by
which he could collate the performanc es of the
present with the performances of the past Instead
of taki ng a measure h e formed an impression ; and
generally speaking his confidence in the impression
wa s in inverse ratio t o his s kill a s an examiner
B ut then i t wa s never pretended that the v iva v ot e
wa s the real investigation : t h e real inves tigatio n
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B
G ROUP
2
TE S T S
OF INTELLIGENCE
wa s
the written examination and to this the v iz/a
7205 3
when it was not a mere perfunctory piece of
routine was subsidiary and supplementary In
the m odern s c heme of mental testing the t wo types
have changed places The more searching and
incisive inquiry is now oral and individual But it
has its drawbacks It takes an unconscionable ti m e
and it demands on the part of the tester a knowledge
both of the t echnique of testing and of the principles
underlying the tests such as is possessed by few
Under the individual system everybody cannot be
tested nor is it everybody Who can test Hence t h e
need for group tests
Individual testing wa s born in France ; group
testing was born in America And its mo ther wa s
—
necessity the stern necessity of wa r HOW th e
Americans tested their soldiers for the Great War
is now an old story but it is worth retelling They
themselves With pardonable pride refer to it as
the greatest piece of mental engineering the
”
world has ever seen
They point t o England s
failur e to make the best use of her most val u able
—
resource the intellectual powers of h er people
B ut then England had to act in a hurry while
Am erica had ample time to think about things
before she entered th e war When she did enter
one of her first steps wa s t o use the psychology of
her psychologists The claims made b y the p sy c h olo
gists were by n o means great They said they could
pick out the recruits wh o were not worth training
—
those wh o were so stupid that they co uld never
make good soldiers Even th ese modest claims
however were viewed with scepticism by the
General Sta ff ; and the value of mental tests for
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GENERAL CHARACTERI STICS
3
soldiers was put t o a rigorous trial A large number
of men in the standing army were tested and
C lassified by the psychologists and this C lassification
wa s compared with an independent Classifi cation
made by o fficers wh o had known t h e men inti
mat ely for some time The two classifications were
compared ; they tallied so well that the scepticism
of the war a u thorities was broken down I t was
frankly admitted that the psychologists could n ot
only do what they predicted but very much more
The upshot was th at the scheme was enormously
extended both in scope and purpose It was
decided to apply it t o the whole of the American
Army with the exception of field and general
O ffi cers ; and it was Offi cially proclaimed t hat the
purpose of the psychological examinations wa s not
only to eli minate the unfit but also t o assess the
intelligence of every soldier in the army t o indicate
the kind of training each recruit might most p rofi t
ably undergo ; to per m it of the units being so
organised that men of the same grade of intelligence
could serve together in the same regiment ; and
t o pick out those men Whose g eneral ability marked
them for promotion or whose special abilities fitted
them f or special ki nds of military service In other
words the scheme enabled the authorities t o fire
out the fools to prevent th e yo king togeth er of
ox and ass and to put the right man in the right
place Altogether nearly one and three quarter
million men were examined of whom
were
o ff icers
The men we re dealt with in large groups some
times as many a s five hundred were tested a t once
Wh en however a man failed t o score a reasonabl e
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4
GROUP TE STS OF INTELLIGENCE
number of marks in the group test he wa s tested
—
again by himself tested on the Bine t system In
fact he was n ot labelled mentally defective until it
was proved b eyond doubt that he deserv ed th e
lab el Of the
men tested in this way only
one in ten proved t o be so bad a s t o be utterly
useless for any kind of military work
The whole undertaking was a colossal business ;
and the O ff icial report which has recently been issued
is correspondingly colossal It weighs abo u t fo ur
po u nds and is so congested with tables and diagrams
and graphs and regression equations and correla
tion coe ffi cients and correction formulae and other
fearso m e things th at it is diffi cult t o conceive
anybody having the patience t o read it through
from cover t o cover T o study it in full would
”
exhaust time and trench upon eternity
The
important thing to know however is that the
—
scheme succeeded succeeded so well that the
American nation is now so firmly convinced of the
pr edictive value of group tests of intelligence that
it is rapi d ly extending their use t o nearly every
department of life ; especially to education B ut
let us return t o the tests themselves
In devising the tests t wo great diffic ulties h ad t o
”
be faced : how to make them fool proof and
how t o apply them to illiterates A fool proof test
is one that prevents the examiner from ma king a
fool of himself Each question is so constructed a s
—
to adm it of one answer only one clear simple
unequivocal answer To make quite sure the
examiner is told what that answer is Noth ing
being left to his individual j udgment he cannot
possibly g o as t ray S uch a t est is f o ol proof Let
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GENERAL CHARACTERI STICS
5
me illustrate Binet has placed in the tenth year
of his scale the following test
If you were asked wha t you thought of someone whom you
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did ot know very well wh t should you say i
Binet s in structions are that any answer is t o be re
garded a s satisfactory if it suggests the need either
of making an inquiry or of withholding an opinion
”
The same question with the words very well
left out appears in th e American Army Tests but
it is followed a s below by three suggested answers
and the examinee is asked t o make a cross in the
square that stands b efore the best answer
w
i
ll
go
and
get
acquainted
I
E!
I
think
he
is
all
right
E!
I
don
t
know
him
and
can
t
say
!
E
Since the key in dicates th e third as the correct
answer the examiner is n ot free t o consider either
of the others
If however he were acting on
Binet s instructions he would hesitate t o rej ect th e
first answer ; h e might accept it or he might n ot
In fact Binet s uest ion is n ot fool proof the army
question is A
ll th e army questions were of this
t ype ; each demanded a s definite and specific a
solution a s the answer t o t h e question How many
twos are contained in ten
Th e device of alternative answers though first
extensively used during the war was previously
employed by Mr W H Winch a s is shown b y
this typical example of h is reasoning tests of 1 9 1 2
Tom had twi ce as many mis t akes in dic t a t ion as Harry and J im
had twice as many Harry Did Tom have more mistakes than
J im or less t han J im or t h same number or can t you t ell ?
”
You mus t say why
l f P y b l gy vii 1 90 2 6
B it i b jou
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6
GROUP TESTS O F INTELLIGENCE
The army group tests to which I have so far
referred are t hose which were applied to the b ulk
of th e American Army and were known as the Alpha
tests They presupposed the ability to r ead and
B ut nearly
t o understand the English language
f
0
per
cent
t
he
soldiers
could
not
do
both
o
o
f
3
these things either because they were completely
illiterate or because they were foreigners wh o had
n ot yet mastered the language of
their adopted
country T o these the B eta tests were given a
distinct set of tests consisting of figures diagrams
—
pictures and puzzles tests couched in the universal
language of line and form and O f so o b vious a
nature that it was possible with the help of a black
board and a few gestures t o explain clearly what
wa s required t o b e done
I h ave dealt at some length with the American
Army Tests because they are not only important
in themselves but important as the parents of a
large progeny of group tests which are still multiply
ing It is true that there were group tests before
the days of Y erkes and his committee j ust a s it is
true th at there were individual tests before the
days of Alfred B inet ; but as B inet put us on the
right track for individual testing so has the American
committee put us on the right track for group
testing At any rate it is the track th at h as b e en
followed ever since It is the track th at has been
followed by the t wo or three dozen standardised
group tests that have already been printed and
published and circulated in the American schoo ls
The more popular of them have found their wa y
t o England and are issued in an Anglicised form
b y H arrap 8: C O If there is wisdom as well a s
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GENERAL CHARACTERI STICS
7
safety in a multitude of counsell ors the highest valu e
m u st be attached to the series prepared und er th e
auspices of the National Research Council and
known as the National Intelligence Tests The
committee of psychologists responsible f or them is
virtually th e same com m ittee as were responsible
for the war tests And the tests cost
dollars
t o prepare
B ut in spite of the name ( and the cost)
they do not seem t o be better or more extensively
used than others of more private origin such as
the Ter m an Group Tests the Haggerty Group
Tests and the Otis Gr oup Tests The Otis Group
Tests are of special interest as some of them were
in manuscript before th e wa r and seem t o have
for m ed the original nucleus of the Army Tests
One marked Characteristic of all these group tests
is that they have t o be worked at break neck speed
as will be seen from an inspection O f Tables I and
I I At th e Alpha examination 2 1 2 questions had
to b e answered in 2 3 minutes 1 5 seconds which
makes an average of about 6% seconds per question
TABLE I
AR M Y R OU A M N AT ON ALP H A
N
f Tes
f Q es i o s
N me f T s
N
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P EX
G
t
O. O
1
2
3
4
6
7
8
a
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o
e
t
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ns t ruc t ions
Arithmetical Problems
Best Answer
Word Meaning
Mixed S entences
Numb r S eries
Analogies
I nformation
I
e
I
I
O
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o
u
t
n
GRO UP TESTS O F INTELLIGENCE
8
The whole examination of course takes much more
time than is indicated in the table in fact it takes
about 5 0 minutes because there are pauses between
the tests and explanations of the test th at is to
follow
In the tests intended f or sch ools the time allowed
is a little more liberal Terman f or instance a s
will be seen from the analysis in Table I I allows
seconds f or each question
a s an average a b out
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T HE
NO
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of
es
T
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4
0
N
m
m
{
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n
u
G
N
O
O
0
0
m
t
TABLE II
T R M AN GROU TESTS
N me
a
.
E
of
P
es
T
t
.
NO
.
of
es io s
Qu
t
n
.
Time
All owed
min
nforma t ion
Bes t A swer
W ord Meaning
Logical S election
A ithmetic
S entence Meaning
A alogie
Mixed S en t ences
Classification
Number S eries
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I
n
r
n
s
1 85
B ut even this means w orking at the rate of seven
—
questions per minut e a pace which even though
most of the questions are easy and n o time is spent
in writing seems t o the plain man to b e a wanton
incitement to guessing and a wicked discouragement
of thinking
Indeed the most serious criticism that
h a s b een made against th e American group t ests is
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10
GROUP TESTS O F INTELLIGENCE
exa m ination In an ordinary school examination
the questions a re comparatively speaking short
and the answ ers long ; in thes e t e sts the qu estions
—
are long and the answers short so short and
unequivocal that they can be marked by stencil
T h e st en c il consists of a sheet of transparent celluloid
or of tou gh tracing paper which exactly fits the
page of the bookl et and has printed on it in appro
ria t e pla c e s the correct answers
By
superimpos
ng
i
p
the stencil on the page all errors can be immediately
detected When however as often happens the
answers range in a vertical column on the right side
of the sheet it is j ust a s convenient to use a piece
of cardboard which has the correct answers printed
at the corresponding intervals along the edge
Yet another characteristic of the tests is the
prefatory sample The eighth test for instance of
the Alpha examination begins thus
Notice the sample sen t ence
People h ea r with the ey es ears n ose mouth
T h e correct word i ears because it makes the truest sentence
I n each of the sentences below you have four choices for the
last word O nly one of them is correct I n each sentence draw
a line under the one of these four words which makes the trues t
sentence I f you cannot be sure guess The two samples are
already marked as they should be
S A M PLES
People b ea r with the ey es ea rs n ose mouth
F ra nc e is in E urop e Asia Af rica Austra lia
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Then follow forty similar sentences for dealin g with
which four minutes are allowed Every other test
not only in the army series but also in school series
is introduced in the same way Some indeed g o
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GENERAL CHARACTERI STICS
I 1
still fu rther and provide preli m inary exercises a s
well as preliminary samples they give the exa m inee
su fficient practice in the type t o ensure th at in the
actual test he is n ot impeded by doubt as to what
is required of him Such practice series appear in
t h e National Intelligence Tests and in the Haggerty
—
Tests practice series which are about a third as
long as the test series
Nearly all group tests are published in at least
t wo sets which are supposed t o be of equal di ff iculty
which carry precisely the same marks and which
—
are paradoxicall y called forms paradoxically because
th e form of the tests is the same : it is only the
content that is different The first question for
instance in Form 5 test 2 of the Alpha examination
runs thus
.
.
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
How many are 3 men and 7 men
Th e first in Form 6 test 2 is
How many are 4 guns and 6 guns
These t wo questions d o not only appear on a pr iori
grounds t o be of equal diff iculty they also proved
in actual practice t o be of equal diffi culty Thus
every item in on e form is matched by a corresponding
item on the alternativ e form In the American
Army Tests th ere were five such alternative forms
numbered 5 to 9 The National Research Council
have already issued t wo alternative forms of the
National Intelligence tests and have promised t o
issue others from time t o time The obj ect of
issuing alternatives is t o prevent coaching and t o
provide tests for candidates already familiar with
the original set of questions
0
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GR O UP TESTS OF INTELLIGENCE
12
It will be seen th at in these intelligence examina
tions tradition is persistently set at naught The
”
ten minutes puzzles a s De Morgan used t o call
th e examination questions in mathematics are
replaced by the briefest of problems in mental
arithmetic The essay on which the examiner h a s
always set so great a S tore has passed away and left
And by the essay I d o n ot mean
n o trace behind
merely the theme the thesis or the set exercise in
composition but th e answers required t o the
questions in history geography science and other
branches of learning For each of these answers is a
little essay in itself with all those complexities of
th e essay all those dubious points of merit and of
demerit which render it utterly unsuitable a s a
means of exact measurement For an essay c a n
never be made fool proof Even the Americans
with all their genius for standardising have failed
here None of their composition scales are genuine
scales n or d o their valuations in any way convince
us
Indeed their notion of what constitutes good
English often seems t o us t o be strange and perverse
One measuring scale f or English composition h a s
for instance only five grades of merit The sample
—
f
o th e highest grade
a sample labell ed
Superior
—
contains the following sentences
Q uality
B obby said they came up close so we could hear if
”
anything g ot them
I am rather doubtful as t o
”
whether I will be granted a vacation this year
On th e whole we think th e Americans h ave acted
wisely in keeping composition out of their in t elli
gence exam i nat i ons
The long answer does n ot suit the group tester
for he always aims at fine calibrat ion Each group
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GENERAL CHARACTERI STICS
13
scale is an aggregate of little things ; each test c on
tains a number of little questions all of the same
type questions which sometimes di ff er from on e
another in di fficulty almost as little as on e milli
metre differs from another millimetre in magnitude
In an ordinary examination it is th e answers that
absorb the time and the energy of th e examiner
He often throws O ff the questions with a fine care
lessness and pays for it dearly in blue pencil and
midnight O il In group testing on th e other hand
th e whole mind and S trength of the examiner is put
forth in devising the questions The answers
trouble him n ot There is n o need for th ey may
be marked by a Clerk or a schoolboy or possi b ly
in the near future by a machine
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C HAPTER
I
II
N ST RUCT I O N S T ES T S
T HE
first test in the Binet Scale is an instructions
test and the first test in the Al pha scale is an in st ruc
tions test The examinee is asked to d o something
—
quite simpl e t o point t o h is eyes nose and mouth
in the Binet examination and in the army examina
tion t o make marks on a sheet of figures diagrams
and words On the first line of the sheet there are
five Circles in a row and t h e first instruction is given
orally thus
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
At t ention ! At ten t ion always means Penc ils up L ook
‘
t the circles t 1
When I say go but ot before make cross
in the firs t Circle and also figure 1 in t h t hi rd circl —G o
l
A
low
not
over
seconds
5
)
(
’
.
a
a
’
.
n
,
a
,
e
e
a
.
On the twelfth and last line of th e sheet are printed
th e natural numbers from I t o 9 and the instructions
are as follows
,
Attention ! Look t 1 If 7 is more than 5 then (when I
say go cross out the number 6 unless 6 i more t han 8 in which
t
case draw line u d t h number 7 —G
Allow
over
(
1
seconds )
2
a
,
.
s
a
0
e
n er
.
,
no
O
.
All these instructions are given by word of mouth
and are uttered once only ; so that if the candidat e
does n ot catch the meaning at once he is lost T o be
quick in th e uptake t o be able t o Ob ey orders readily
.
,
,
14
INSTRUCTIONS TESTS
1
5
is obviously a valuable gift not only in soldiering
but in n e arly every circumstance of life At any
rate on e fe els it to be a valuabl e gift f or others t o
possess The mother makes heavy demands upon it
in th e home and the teachers in the school Mr
Wa c kf ord Squeers wa s n ot unaware of it s advantages
But in these cases it is exercised rather than tested
the ability is supposed t o be there in unlimited
measure One feels it approaching th e nature of a
test when one asks a policeman in the street th e way
to such and such a place and gets as a reply
Take
the first turning t o th e left th en the second t o the
right then t h e first t o the right again keep straight
on till you get t o the fi re station and turn down the
street j ust beyond t h e fi re station which has a public
”
house at the corner and so on and so on Personally
I a lwa y s fail in this test
T h e instructions test is obviously a test of listen
ing of understanding and of remember ing The
testee must listen carefully h e must understand
clearly and he must bear in mind what he is told
until th e order is completely carried out
Some
tim e s th e instructions being presented in writing
or in print the listening is eliminated and th e test
is rendered easier by the fact that th e testee may re
—
read the directions as often as he likes within the
time limit B ut it is q uite possible t o make up for
this by complicating the instructions a little more
The usual way is to impose c e rtain conditions and
”
“
—
reservations to add a j udicio u s sprinkling of if
clauses and unless clauses
In adult life we meet the printed instructions
—
—
~
r
test o rather it meets us we d o n ot seek it in
the g uise o f O ff icial forms and q ues t ionn a ires And
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16
GROUP TESTS OF INTELLIGENCE
we acquit ourselves b adly Administrative o fficers
assure us that about 70 per cent of the returns sent
in by educated C it izens are wrongly fill ed up And
they sa y unki nd things about our intelligence B ut
it is ou r patienc e that is at fault not ou r int elligenc e
For these forms are far duller than the American
group forms and their impertinence and inquisi
t iv en ess ( I have specially in mind th e forms that are
”
headed
Income tax ) compare badly with the
fine impersonality of an examination paper
The Otis advanced examination leads off with a
good instructions test At the top of the paper the
Alphabet is printed in capitals and each of the
twenty questions on t h e page b ears upon this
alphabet I wi ll quote three
W
rite
the
le
t
ter
O
5
1 4 Write t h
let t er which i s t h t hir d le t t er t o t h r igh t of the
le t t er whi ch is midway be t ween and o
2 0 Find t h
t wo le t t ers in t h word AFT ER whi ch have jus t
many le t ters be tween t hem in the alphabe t in t h word Wr it e
t h one of t hese le t t ers t ha t comes fi rs t in t h alphab t
.
.
.
.
.
,
,
-
.
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,
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,
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e
.
e
e
K
e
.
.
as
e
as
e
e
.
e
e
.
3
In reading these it will b e seen h ow easy it is f oi
the instructions tes t to pass in t o a sort of puzzle
where the diffi culty is not so much in remembering
what one is told to d o and then doing it as in finding
out by an elaborate mental analysis what it is that
one is told
The instructions type of test is frequently used
—
nowadays in our infant schools a s a reading test a s
a test of the child s capacity t o absor b the meaning
of what he reads A teacher f or instance will give
a chil d a card on which is printed :
Wh en y ou
have read this turn the card upside down on the
‘
desk go to th e blac kb oard and write th e word Yes 5
,
,
.
’
.
,
,
,
’
,
CHAPTER I I I
A N AL O G I ES
is recorded b y Boswell that a certain Dr Adams
called on e day upon Dr J ohnson and found him busy
at h is dictionary The following dialogue ensued
IT
.
.
.
A AMS But S ir how can you do t his i n three years
J O H NSON S ir I have no doubt I can do it in t h ee years
A AMS But the French Academy which consis t s of forty
members took for t y years to compile their Dic tionary
J O H NS ON S ir thus it is This is the proportion L t me see
forty times forty is sixteen hundred A t h§ e is to sixteen hundred
so is the proportion of Englishman to Frenchman
D
,
,
r
,
D
.
,
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,
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e
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an
s
,
a
.
If J ohnson had b een a mathematician instead O f a
man of letters he would to express himself more
precisely have inverted the ratio B ut his meaning
is clear This attempt t o humanise math ematics
and t o bring the method of proportion into th e
ordinary a ff airs of life is an anticipation of th e
modern anal ogies test which is no t hing but our old
friend the rule of three with words taking the
place of numbers Three terms are given and a
fourth h a s t o found bearing the same relation t o
the third as the second bears t o th e first
Analogies were first used as intelligence tests by
Mr Cyril B urt in his investigations at Liverpool in
They
have
since
become
very
popular
They
1 10
9
have been inserted in some of the revisions of the
,
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,
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18
ANALOGIE S
1
9
Binet Scal e and it is rare t o find a group scale which
does n ot include analogies as on e of it s tests Of
th e hundred analogies which Mr B urt gives in
Men ta l a nd Seb ola rtie Test: the first five are a s follows :
1 Prince
t o Princess
K ing i t o
i
2
Pencil i t Drawing Brush i to
i
t
J
anuary
o
February
Firs
i
t
i to
3
i
o
S
ailor
S
oldier
Navy
t
i
t
o
4
o
E
Mo
n
i
t
ar
t
h
E
arth
i to
5
Here there is n o ambiguity about th e question n o
uncertainty about th e answer Each problem h a s
b ut on e possible solution : each is virtually f ool
proof B ut all analogies are n ot so This on e taken
from another source admits of several answers
Ban t am i to Fowl Merino i to
—
Any of these words will fi t beast animal sheep
—
wool fabric cloth and possibly a few more
The Alpha Tests remove the possibility of
variant answers by appearing in the following form
t
o
I
give
the
first
w
and
the
last
a
series
f
t
w
o
o
(
)
—
1 gun —
t
shoo s knife run cuts h a t b ird
2 ear—
hear eye—ta b le h a nd see p la y
—
—
t
laugh er joy smile g irls grin
3 9 tears sorrow
—
—
cold
ice
heat
lig h tn ing wa rm stea m coa t
4
The examinee is asked t o choose the appropriate
word from among the f our in h ea vy ty p e and to
underline it B ut the test n ow seems t o be made
fool proof at the expense of robbing it of the
greater part of its value as an index of thought
For it is much easier t o select one term out of four
possible t erms than t o think out the relationship
without any hint or help of any kind B esides
there is n o Clear proof that the testee h a s really
,
.
.
a:
.
:
.
o
s
.
s
a:
:
.
:
a:
s
.
s
s
a:
o
a:
s
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:
a:
:
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20
GR OUP TESTS OF INTELLIGENCE
grasped the relationship ; for if he s elected on e of
the words at random he would be right in about
2 5 per cent of the cases
The reply made t o this
criticism is that among the words presented there
is always at least one that tempts the testee t o g o
—
astray on e that is more usually associated with the
third term than is the correct answ er and therefore
seems more plausible Th at
t o th e unthinking
this plea is fully j ustified in the army examples I
gravely doubt In the first t wo examples cited
above where is the association link that is stronger
than the one that establishes the logical relation
ship
The mere impetus of habit carries on e here
along the right path
But there is another and a more conclusive way
—
of co m paring the t wo methods the wa y of ex p eri
ment Children have been tested with analogies
where the choice of the fourth term is left free and
unfettered ; and again with analogies where the
possibilities are narrowed down t o four And the
di ff erence in the two class es of results is regarded by
the Americans at least a s insu ffi cient t o outweigh
the advantage of the fool proof key
It sometimes happens that when the analogy is
controlled one is forced t o give a di ff erent solution
from what one would give if the analogy were free
Terman for instance includes the followin g among
his group tests
.
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,
,
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,
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,
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-
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~
i
s
4
t0 16 as
i
s
5
to
3
The reader with a mathematical training would at
once say 2 0 were he permitted t o d o so B ut he
is not per m itted for he has t o choose h is answer
from among these four numbers 7 45 3 5 2 5
.
,
,
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,
.
AN ALOGIE S
21
Th e missing term is almost invaria b ly the last
term In th e Miller Mental Abili ty Test however
th e position of the missing term is constantly
changed For example :
F S H SW M (man boa t flower t ree) WAL
ho
r
week
long
day
N
G
H
T
W
H
T
B
L
A
C
u
)
(
T O E (k ee foot arm nail) F N GER H AN
Th e most diffi cult analogies I have come across
appear in Rob a c k s Menta lity Tests for Superior
Ad ults He puts h is sample in this form
S un—heat fl ow —o dour
and leaves th e subj ect free t o choose his own fourth
term as in the following
At —tha t
.
,
,
.
I
I
,
,
n
,
I
I
,
,
E
K.
D
I
,
,
K.
:
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er
.
,
18
—riangle ; circle
Mate—fate book
S quare
t
xcep t —accept ; ext end
E
8
—;
—
6
;
9
0
X
F
Analogies appear in a new guise in T h urst on e s
Psychological Examination f or College Freshmen
and High School Seniors a s will b e seen from the
following S pecimens
Underline t wo words wi t h t h same rela t ion as egg and bird
C rack seed plan t grow nest
Underline tw words with the same relation as boy and man
Wool lamb dog sheep shepherd
There c a n b e n o dou b t a s t o the importance of
the mental fac t or the analogies test is designed t o
measure Willi am J ames in a well known passage
’
,
e
.
.
o
.
.
-
.
G en I uses
1
are,
b y common
Principle: of Pryeb ology,
onsen t considered
vol ii p 348
C
,
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.
GROUP TE STS OF INTELLIGENCE
22
di ff er from ordinary minds by an unusual develop
ment of association by similarity One of Pro
f essor B ain s best strokes of work is the exh ibition of
this truth It applies t o geniuses in the line of
reasoning a s well as in other lines And as the
genius is t o the vulgarian so the vulgar hu m an mind
is t o x h e intelligence of a brute
The most
elementary single di ff erence between the human
mind and that of brutes lies in this deficiency on the
”
brute s part t o associate ideas by similarity
to
.
’
.
.
,
.
’
.
associate ideas by similarity may therefore be
regarded a s on e of the cardinal characteristics of
the mind of man and of all the ideas we associate
by similarity ideas of relationship are prob ably the
most important For ideas of relationship underlie
all our reasoning processes they form th e main
staple of mathematical thought and they find
a b undant expression in the literatures of all nations
Curiously enough William J ames though he prob
ably never heard of the analogies test uses in the
very passage quoted above as complete an analogy
a s an y to be found in th e American Army exa m ina
tion Overtly or covertly it appears everywhere ;
in the most frivolous of j okes n o less than in the
sublimest of poetry Indeed the fashionable j oke
A
of the hour hangs upon a specious analogy
graceless y outh (or maiden) springs upon you the
question
H ave you seen Lydia
And if you
are unwary enough to ask Lydia What B you
”
get a s a reply Lid 0 your dustbin or some such
piece of nonsense Y our mind following on e line of
relationship is suddenly j erked on to another And
—
the j olt amuses y ou if y ou are in the mood for it
To
,
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CHAPTE R IV
T HE
O NE
MEA N I N G
OF
W O RD S
the most persistent charges b rought
against th e Binet Scale and indeed against every
other general sclreme of testing intellig ence is that
it attaches too much importance t o words and t oo
little t o things It is biased towards language It
does n ot give a fair Chance t o the Child with a
—
strong practical bent th e child wh o is inarticulate
in speech but h a s a peculiar gift of thinking a s it
were through his fingers This criticism is doubt
less well grounded it points t o a real defect in the
mental tester s equipment But when all this is
admitted th e fact remains th at if there is one
universal type of mental ability it is th e linguistic
type Even th e practical man practical in the
narrow sense is n ot so inarticulate a s he seems he
is articulate enough in th e matters that interest
him And every branch of science however p ra c t i
c a l it s bearings
is a s h a s well b een said no thing
but a well constructed language Language is S O
pre eminently the instrument of thought that the
active mind cannot help using it An intelligent
child of t wo cannot help knowing the meaning of
the word bread
n or c a n the intelligent Child
of seven help knowing the meaning of the word
“
book 3
of
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2
3
24
GROUP TESTS OF INTELLIGENCE
It is therefore contended by some that if we
measure a Child s vocabulary we g o a long way
towards measuring his mind Terman holds this
view and includes in his Stanford Revision of the
Binet Simon Scale a vocabulary test of his own of
which he makes wide use The child is asked t o
define as many words as possible from a long list
Binet himself h ad a definitions test but he limited
h is list t o five simple words ( fork table chair horse
mother) and b ased h is diagnosis mainly on the type
Terman on the other h and h a s
of definition used
a list of a hundred w ords of in creasing diffi culty
and h e is n ot particular about the precise mode of
definition so long a s the child gives Clear evidence
that he knows what the word means And he h a s
a theory that we c a n roughly gauge the full range
of a child s vocabulary by counting t h e number of
test words with which he is familiar and multiplying
it by a given constant Bu t this test is o ral and
individual
For group testing Mr B urt s definitions test
is probably the best It is so constructed as t o
afford a clue n ot only t o the general ability of the
person tested but also t o h is particular b ent of
mind The test however is not easy t o mark
Indeed no fool proof definitions test seems t o h ave
appeared yet though such a test would not be
difficult t o devise
Considerably the most f requent form of word
meaning tes t is the opposites test A lis t of words
is presented t o the child and he is as k ed t o write
down against each of them the word tha t means
’
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1
Men ta l
a nd
Schola stic Texts,
pp
.
—
3
2 29
0.
GROUP TESTS O F INTELLIGENCE
26
test as was done in Test 4 of the Alpha Examination
The test was introduced thus
,
.
words of a pair mean the same or nearly the same d raw
a line under m I f they mean the Opposite or nearly the
I f you cannot be sure guess
O pposite draw a line under pp it
The two samples are already marked t hey should be
If
t wo
,
sa
e
.
o
,
os
e
.
,
as
S A M PLES
.
.
same —
O pposi t e
same—opposite
good—bad
little—small
Then followed forty pairs of words each aligned
—
with the pair same opposite It is clear that this
makes th e test fool proof but it is by n o means clear
that the statistical results are sound There are only
t wo alternatives to Choose from and if the examinee
makes his choice by tossing up a coin he will as a rule
get half his answers right It is claimed that this
di ffi culty has been met by counting a s the real score
n ot the number right but the number right minus
the number wrong If therefore the candidate
attempts the whole forty and gets twenty r ight his
score will be zero This device of marking seems
to meet the diffi culty it is true ; but many cannot
get rid of an uncomfortable feeling that there is
still t oo much scope for guesswork especially as the
examinee is told t o guess if he does not know
It is a good feature of the test that the words get
progressively harder as they get lower down the
series The last five pairs in form 6 a re these :
—
t
suavi
y
asperity
6
3
—
t
perfunc
ory
meticulous
37
—
8
lugubrious
maudlin
3
—
desuetude
disuse
39
—
adv
nti
ious
acciden
al
t
t
4
,
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O
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e
.
T HE
OF
MEANING
WORD S
27
Many other group tests h ave followed the army
tests in this matter and a synonym antonym test
similarly presented appears in the National I n t elli
gence Tests The Otis Primary Examinations The
Terman Group Tests and the Haggerty Intelligence
Examination Delta 1 It is worthy of note that
the two group tests that have special exa m inations
for j uniors (the Otis and the Haggerty) put the
test in the j unior paper a n d omit it from the
sen i or
There is one form of word meaning test which
merges into the sentence meaning test It is what
is known t o th e le a rned as the Ebbingha u s Comple
tion Test and t o the public a s th e missing word
competition By including it in th e National
Intelligence Tests the authors renounce the a d
—
vantage of le mot jus te the on e inevitable word
and make it very troublesome t o mark One of
the s e nt ences runs thus
-
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
.
-
-
.
-
,
.
.
,
Power is
.
.
from steam petrol
,
,
and other
t hi
ngs
.
According t o the key 1 4 diff erent words are permis
sible for the first blank and 1 2 for the second In
the 2 0 sentences given there are 3 0 bla nk spaces
and only 3 of these c a n be fitted with one word
alone
Dr Otis succeeds b e t ter This is how he manages
.
,
.
.
.
it
°
O MPLETI O N
NAR R ATI V E C
CT I ONS —For each numbered blank in the story choose
the be t word of the t hree in the list having the same number as
the blank Underline t h word you Choose You may write these
D I RE
,
s
.
e
.
G R O UP TESTS OF INTELLIGENCE
28
word in the blank spaces if you wi sh but only the underlining
coun t s Do no t hing abou t t h blanks tha t are ot numbered
s
,
n
e
.
Tb c Rewa rd
f
o
O nce upon a
( )
I
tha t lived in a
Un derline Words b cre
K in d ness
t
O ne
.
here was a
1 t
( )
ime place man
1
2
as he was
( 3)
roaming about he stepped on a
it s t uck in his
and
,
(4)
2
man lion dog
s
t
ree
t
garden
fores
t 3
3
tack
thorn
rock
4
4
(5 )
The story continues thus
2
f or 3 2
lines
.
CHA PTE R
T HE
ME A N I N G
OF
V
SEN T E N C ES
T HE R E is one point on which books on school
me t hod are unanimous and emphatic they all warn
the teacher against putting questions which c a n be
answered by Yes or No The implication is that
when he gets his answer he c a n o nly be half sure that
it testifies t o genuine knowledge This piece of
advice whether it be good or bad is fl agrantly
violated in the American group tests T wo ou t of
the eight Alpha Tests embracing altogether 64
questions are cast in this mould ; and the p ro
portion is not very di ff erent in th e other published
scales The questions most liable t o appear in the
Yes or No form are those which are designed t o test
a knowledge of meanings One of the National
Intelligence Tests contain s 40 ques t ions of which I
will qu ot e five
.
.
,
,
.
,
,
.
.
,
1
.
16
4
35
36
2
.
.
.
.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
children play i
Are ducks covered wi th fur
Do convic t s usually preach sermons 3
D t ranspare t g oggles t ransmit light
May a titanic bulk be called infinit esimal 3
DO
O
n
Th e
examinee is required t o underline the right
It will be seen that th e
a nswer t o each question
questions are of increasing di fficulty gT erm a n s
.
’
.
29
GROUP TESTS OF INTELLIGENCE
0
3
questions are fewer more diffi cult and more uni
form He begins with
1 D oes a conscien t ious person ever make mistakes
Yes No
,
,
.
.
He ends with
t
N
rancour
usually
charac
erised
by
persis
ence
Y
es
2
I
t
4
A more usual way of treating sentence meanings
is t o use an adaptation of Binet s mixed sentences test
The examinee is presented with a j um b le of words
which he is asked t o straighten out into a sensible
sentence and t o indicate whether what it says is true
or false by drawing a line under on e of the t wo words
at the end of the line The following are extracted
from the Al pha Tes t s
1
lions strong are
false
t rue
6 got t en sea water sugar
from
true false
I5
not eat gunpowder to good is
t rue
false
2
repeated
call
human
for
courtesies
associat
ons
true
false
4
.
O
s
-
’
.
.
.
-
15
.
.
i
.
In all these hit or miss cases the score is counted
by subtracting the number wrong from the num b er
right B ut as I pointed out in the last Chapter even
this stringent system of mar king does n ot fully satisfy
those wh o think there is so m ething es sentially un
sound in narrowing down th e answer t o t wo alterna
t ives
It must be remembered however that the
results of both the army tests and the National
Intelligence Test s have b een submitted t o the most
rigid statistical analysis and it is difficult to believe
th at a fundamental defect in the mode of presenting
the tests would have escaped detection A very good
defence of this type of question is made out by Mr
Arthur I Gates
As a means of estimating progress
—
u
l
Ed
u
t
i
l
P
o
l
xii
pp
2
b
8
6
f
y
gy
7
7
y
.
.
,
,
,
.
.
l
.
1
o rna
.
o
ca
ona
s
c
o
,
,
.
.
THE MEANING OF SENTENCE S
3
1
in college studies he regards the true false test as far
—
superior t o the ordinary examination the essay
examination a s he calls it I quote some of his
questions
t
The
aud
t
ory
area
i
i
n
the
emporal
lobe
of
the
cortex
i
)
(
According to T m
findings the average intelligence of
boys is markedly superior to t h in t elligence of girls
t
t
The
cu
ve
of
forgetting
has
been
more
thoroughly
inve
iga
e
d
()
t han t h curve of learning
we
find
a
large
percen
t
age
of
mentally
inferior
c
hi
ldren
I
f
d
( )
i n the slums it proves tha t slum envi onment i one cause of mental
deficiency
All the student h a s t o d o is t o place opposite the
”
question the word true or the word false We
have n o di ffi culty therefore in believing Mr Gates
when he assures us that the system is more popular
than the essay examination both among the s t udents
and among the examiners But he goes further
and give s statistical et id en c e t o show that it is also
more highly correlated with intelligence and has
greater predictive value
Another method of dealing with the disarranged
sentence is t o be found in a very ingenious series of
tests known a s the Pressey Cross out Tests
There
are only four tests and th e first of them is intro
d u c ed by these three examples
see
I
man
on
( )
b
( ) knife chair the sharp is
J
ohn
broken
window
rees
has
the
t
()
-
.
s
a
.
’
an s
er
,
e
.
s
r
c
e
.
r
,
s
.
.
.
.
,
,
.
1
-
.
,
a
a
.
.
c
.
Each example c a n be made into a sensible sentence
provided on e word is crossed out There are 2 5
such sentences altogether and the examinee is asked
t o cross out in each of them the super fl uous word
—
u
E
u
o
d
xi
pp
l
t
i
l
P
b
l
1
1
00
f
g
y
y
y
9
'
.
,
.
1
o rna
ca
on a
s
c
oo
,
,
.
.
2
3
GROUP TE STS
OF
INTELLIGENCE
There are t wo other ways of dealing with the
mixed sent ence one is to ask the examinee t o mark
t h e first word of the reconstructed sentence and
t h e oth e r is to ask him t o mark the last word
I
regard the latt e r as t h e b e tt er method f or it alone
giv e s cl ear evidenc e that the words of the sentence
have b een set in order from b eginning t o end
Otis includes in his advanced examination an
interesting Prov e rbs test A list of 1 2 proverbs is
given followed by a list of 1 2 statements each of
which explains one of the proverbs in the first list
The two lists follow a di ff erent order The problem
is to place in the brackets that stand before each
proverb the number of the statement that explains
it In other words the testee h a s to fit the right
explanation to the right proverb His first t wo
proverbs are
Make hay while the sun shines
A drowning man will gra p at straws
The explanations that fit are respectively
Make
the
best
of
your
opportunities
( 3)
6
esperate
people
cling
to
absurd
hopes
D
( )
In Whipple s Group Tests for Grammar Grades
the subj ect is asked t o match English Proverbs with
African Prov erbs by placing in the brackets the
appropriate number I quote these examples
,
.
,
.
.
,
,
.
.
.
,
.
.
3
.
I
,
.
.
’
.
Englisb Proverbs
Af rica n Prov erbs
.
Married in haste we repen t at
le isure
D istance lends enchantmen t t o
the view
Curses come home t o roos t
.
.
.
istan t firewood is good
firewood
Ashes
in
the
face
of
him
fl
5
y
who t hrows them
1 1 Q uick
loving a woman
means quick not loving a
woman
D
4
.
.
.
.
.
.
CHAPTER VI
AR I T H MET I C A N D L O G
IC
T H OSE who think there is a clear line of cleavage
between tests of int elligence and tests of school
attainments will be surprised to find that there is
no set of group tests of any repute which does not
contain at least one arithm e tic paper The first
written test in th e Alpha examination is an arithmetic
test T h e first of th e National Intelligence Tests
is an arith m etic test ; and as this is wholly con
cerned with problems another test is included
which consists of abstract arith m etical examples of
a purely mechanical type A third test is d evoted
mainly to th e checking of duplicate numbers These
arithmetic tests need not be described in detail
for they do not diff er in essentials from the ordinary
arithmetic exa m ination The examples are how
ever si m ple r they can nearly always be worked in
one s head ; and th ey take up much less time If
th e candidate finds it necessary to make written
calculations he has to make them on th e exiguous
margin of his question paper
The arith m e tic paper is with hardly an ex c ep
tion a test in arithmetical reasoning rather than a
—
test in computation which is what one would
naturally expect in an ex a mI n a t I on of intelligence
Wh at first strikes the man who looks with fresh eyes
at modern group tests is the rareness of any d irect
.
.
,
.
.
,
.
,
,
’
.
,
.
,
,
.
34
ARITHMETIC AND LOGIC
35
and obvious appeal to logic Most of the response
called forth see m s to be of an ordinary ro u tin e
kind involving it is true the exercise of common
sense and of most uncommon alertness but making
no demands upon th at ingenuity which solv es in a
—
third line a two lined puzzle beginning
Not all
things th at have handles are brooms
The sy llo
gism is palpably absent B arbara Celarent and
the rest of them a re entirely ignored Even induc
tive reasoning do e s not figure conspicuously And
yet it is not only a popular b eli e f but a scientifi c
hypothesis which has received no small amount of
experimental support that the nearer we approach
reason the nearer do we get to the very soul and
secret of intelligence
A closer insp e ction of the tests however reveals
the fact that the reasoning is ther e though it is
not manife st on the surface Al l the ele m ents of
logic as they operate in th e work a day world if
not as they appear in the pages of Aristotle are
called into play by th ese simple looking tests Let
us consider for instance the following examples
from test 6 of the Alpha examination
Look at each row of numbers below and on the
D i ti
write the two numbers that should come next
t wo dotted l i
.
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
.
.
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
-
-
,
,
-
.
,
rec
,
ons
,
n es
2
3
9
15
3
I
16
4
.
4
7
14
6
5
6
7
I
5
I
17
13
18
9
13
18
‘
In the first of these exa m ples it se em s as though the
mind s own mo m entum must inevitably carry it
forw a rd th e next few steps ; yet this momentum
itself is d u e t o a previous process of l e arning and
perhaps of analysis and synthesis As th e series get
’
,
.
6
3
GROUP TESTS OF INTELLIGENCE
more di ffi cult t h e analysis and synth esis the
investigating and the inferring more obvio u sly take
place in the present ; and in such exa m ples as the
last two above one with its double pattern and the
other with its single pattern all the processes of
—
inductiv e logic inspection hypothesis and v erifi
—
c ation
hav e wittingly or unwittingly to be gone
through before the law of the series is confidently
apprehended
This nu m ber series test is a popular one and
app e ars in other for m s Trabue leaves the blanks
in th e middle of the series instead of the end thus
S eries 3
1
11
1
8
3
4
7
1
S eries 9
IO
15
1
16
6 3
2
3
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
-
,
.
,
2
S efi e8
14
0
32
.
0
2
28
2
O
2
9
26
25
27
—
Pressey who requires the crossing out
the
number that breaks the rule of th e series gives
these three samples
,
of
,
( )
b
( )
Q)
2
a
7
4
6
1
2
6
8
5
4
I
1
9
4
3
16
8
O
I 2
2
17
Among the logical tests mi ght be included those
which demand the Checking of n u mbers na m es or
diagrams I give the first t wo and the last t wo
pairs of numbers in tes t 5 of the army B eta exa m ina
—
tion the examina tion for illiterates
,
,
.
65 0
65 0
I
4
4
O
O4
1
1
1
00
2
6
8
4
9 7
1
1
0
0
1
2
8
6
7
4
9
65439 2 0 8 1 7
6 5 4 3 9 2 0 8 71
The examinee is asked to mark with a cross those
numbers that are identical The National I n t elli
gence Identity Test includes names and diagrams
.
AND
ARITHMETIC
LOGIC
37
as w ell as n u m bers The instructions and thre e
examples are here given
I f the two things in a pair are the same write S on the
dotted line between them I f they are di ff erent write D
.
,
.
,
.
0
1
6
3 75
1
0
6
3 75
Bateson N P
.
,
Batterson N P
.
,
.
.
—
all intelligence tests are or
Although in a wa y
—
ought to b e tests of com m on sense there is one
kind of test th at appropriates the label The third
co m mon sense
of the Al pha T e sts is known as a
”
te st
The exa m inee is directed to mark with a
cross as in the sample the best answer t o a given
question
S A M PLE
Wh y do we use stoves 2 Because
They
look
well
E!
They
keep
us
warm
1
[2
They
are
black
[: I
Then follow sixteen items of the same kind the
first of which is i
C ats are use ful anim ls because
1
They
catch
mice
E!
They
are
gentle
E!
They
are
afraid
of
dogs
D
And the last is
1 6 Wh
t
i
is
colder
near
the
poles
than
near
the
equator
?
y
Because
C! The poles are always farther from the sun
i
The
sunsh
ne
falls
obliquely
at
the
poles
[3
There is more ice at the poles
I!
We thus see that the tests begin with a very com m on
form of common sense but pass towards the
,
.
-
.
,
,
.
.
.
,
a
.
,
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
,
4
GROUP TE STS OF INTELLIGENCE
8
3
lose into that organised form of common sense
which we call science
The old scholastic machinery of genus species
differentia proprium and accidens appear in a new
guise in the American tests One of the most
pop ular of these is the Logical Selection test The
instructions are In each sentence draw a line under
the two words that tell what the thing a lwa ys has
In other words th e subj ect h a s t o distinguish
between the di ff er e nti ae and propria on the on e
hand and the a c c id en t ia on the other Here are a
few examples from the Terman Tests and from the
National Intelligence Tests
A bird always has
bones egg beak nes t song
Paper always has
edges envelopes printing surface wa t ermark
Fire always has
ashes danger flame hea t wood
Compromise always involves
adjustment agreement friendship respec t sa t isfac t ion
c
.
,
,
,
,
.
.
.
,
.
.
.
.
.
Another common classification test requires the
removal of an intruder from among a group of things
of the same class
Instructions In each line cross
out the word that does not b elong there
Frank J ames J ohn S arah William
E mp l
hard rough smooth soft sweet
.
.
es
x a
.
.
Otis presents the classification test in another w ay
Thus
.
Find the way i n whi ch the firs t three things on a
line are alike Then look at the five other things on the same line
and draw a line under the one t ha t is m t lik e the first t hree
S mpl
Hat collar glove
hand cane head shoe house
D irect ions
.
os
a
e
,
,
.
.
AND
ARITHMETIC
I append t wo items
President capta in general
Generous kind honest
,
39
ship army king republic soldier
strong selfish wise loyal rich
,
,
,
,
LOGIC
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
,
Roback in his Mentality Tests for Superior Adults
gives t wo logical tests on e of which h e calls an
Abstraction Test and the other a Subsumption Test
This is the Abstraction Test
Place in front of each line the name of the general
Di t i
class t which ll the words enumerated on the line can be referred
I llu t t i
A musical composition —
song oratorio symphony
O pera canta t a
,
.
ons
rec
o
a
ons
s ra
,
,
,
.
,
A
.
f ew items
—
Piano compass lancet iolin pen
v
,
,
,
,
.
—
Asylum hospital college library ail
,
,
,
,
.
The Su b sumption Test is introduced thus
Use each word in the following list as the firs t
Di t i
t erm of a series which you are to cons t ruct so tha t each successive
t erm will be more inclusive or general than the last until you
have reached the mos t inclusive possible For example if the word
given were p i t the next term might be w d (as including
p i t) ; the next ity (as including w d) ; the next u ty (as
including ity) and so ou—t t ou t y wo ld u i
S imilarly
the word wi d ow p
might form the following series pane
window room house block street city etc Don t stop if there
is any possible way of continuing the series I f you find yourself
in a blind alley t ake another path
on s :
rec
,
.
rec n c
rec n c
ar
,
ar
c
c
s a e, c
,
-
n
,
n r
,
co n
r
,
n verse.
a ne
:
,
’
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
,
.
Then follows a list of initial words such as second
of
time
leaf
of
a
tree
leaf
of
a
book
tone
(
)
)
(
(
)
family etc
Here it is evidently the relationship of whole
and part that the author has in mind not the sub
sumption of a species under its proxi m ate genus
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
GROUP TE STS OF INTELLIGENCE
0
4
Som e times it is time s equ ence that is the r elation
ship which the subj ect is asked to indicate The
following examples of time sequence are taken from
the Dearborn Group Tests
Number the following words to show their proper
Di ti
order Put the numbers directly under t h words as in the
following examples
A dinner supper breakfast
.
ons
rec
e
.
,
,
2
1
3
B fruit
seed plan t
fi ower
,
I
3
4
.
2
I quote a few of the ite ms
D ress silkworm cocoon satin
Physician football game recovery bandage broken leg t ackle
Armistice battles declaration of war peace recruiting victory
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
The relation of cause and e ffect is made the b asis
of 40 questions in the Miller Mental Ability Test
You are to t hink of the firs t word in each group as a
Di t io
u
f
t
and draw a line under o
tha t m y b
t
i
u
fi
This
the
author
s
wording
i
ot mine )
(
.
rec
ca
ns
n e no n
se,
’
s
n
,
a
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
.
,
,
O
ec
.
F I RE (h ot house damage melt)
W ATER (cold flood t h irst transparent)
ELE C T R I C I TY (wire snow light hot)
W O R K (tired honest toil wages)
,
e an e
.
.
,
.
I will close this chapter with t wo complete tests
a l reasoning which I have
A
and
B
in
arithmetic
)
(
myself used and found very serviceable The tests
for each of which eight minutes are allowed are
approximately equal in diffi culty The age norms
for each test are as follows
IO
11
12
13
1
Age
4
9
6
8
Score
5
7
4
9
,
.
,
,
.
e
.
4
GROUP TESTS OF INTELLIGENCE
2
ARI THMETI C
A
Min utes
Eigb t
Work
.
these sums in your head Make no mark on this paper
apples 3 of which were rotten and had
1 A boy was given 1
to be th own away After eating 4 of the good ones how may
were left
Fred plays marbles starting wi th 1 5 He loses 8 and then
wins 6 HOW many has he then 2
t t
3 J ane has a box of 4 chocola t es which she i allowed t o
the rate f 3 a day HOW many days will they last i
minutes to walk from his house to the railway
4 A man takes
station His son also t akes
minutes How long will it take
them if they both walk together
5 Find the number a quarter of which is 5
6 I f I pay 6 for 3 lb of butter what shall I have t pay for lb
After
Spending
half
my
money
and
then
hal
f
the
remainder
7
I had d left How much had I t first 2
8 Wha t is the least number tha t must be added t o 5 3 to make
it exactly divisible by 7 i
H
OW
m
any
eggs
t
three
for
can
buy
for
half
a
crown
d
I
3
9
5
1 0 I f it t akes three men t
paint the inside of a house in t wo
d ys how many men would be needed to do it in half a day P
1 1 A man works
days then rests 1 then works days and
rests 1 and so on For every day he works he arns
HOW
much will he ea r from Monday morning to S aturday night i
12 W
h at i the distance righ t round the edge of an oblong table
ft
long
and
ft
broad
5
4
1 3 I f I share a shilling between two boys so that o
has 2d
more than the other how much does the more fortunate boy get P
1 4 S even posts 3 } ft apart are fixed in
row What i the
distance from the first post to the last
1 5 J ohn and Henry start walking to meet one another from
places 1 % miles apart I f J ohn walks at the rate of 3 mil es an
hour and Henry at the rate of 4 mil es an hour how long will it
be before they meet
1 6 I f a man s salary is increased by 1
per cent and then
reduced by per cent state whether he loses or gains and by
what percentage
.
0
.
r
2
.
,
.
,
.
.
,
.
2
.
O
ea
s
a
.
20
.
20
.
.
.
.
.
s
.
.
.
2
o
,
.
.
2
.
a
.
.
a
.
.
o
.
a
,
2
.
,
2
,
1 0s
e
.
.
n
s
.
.
.
ne
.
.
,
1
.
a
.
s
.
.
0
.
,
,
’
0
.
10
.
.
,
.
,
ARITHMETIC AND LOGIC
43
ARI THMETI C
B
M in utes
Eigb t
Work
.
these sums in your head Make no mark on thi s paper
marbles 4 of which he gave to a friend and 3
1 J ohn had 1
were lost through a hole in his pocket How many had he left
Mary had a shilling spent and had 6d more given to her
How much had h then i
Among
how
many
boys
can
I
share
half
a
crown
so
t
hat
each
3
gets 3 d
seconds
to
fall
from
the
top
of
a
tower
it
t
kes
a
stone
f
I
3
4
t the ground how lo g will it take two stones that start together i
Find
the
number
half
of
which
is
1
5
4
f coffee how much will 3 lb
6 I f I have to pay 7 for 2 1b
cos t me P
A
f
ter
spending
half
my
money
and
t
hen
half
t
h
remainder
7
I have 3 d left How much had I t first i
8 What is the least number that mus t be added t o 4 to make
it exactly divisible by 6
How
many
oranges
at
for
can
I
buy
for
d
3
9
4
I f it takes a man 3 days to paint the inside of a house how
1
many men would be needed to do it in half a day i
A man works a day then rests a day then works a day then
1
rests day and so on For each day he work he earns 1 5 How
much will he earn from Monday to Friday night
1
How far is it right round the edge of an Oblong flower bed
which is 5 ft long and 4 ft wide
boys so that one gets a 1 d more
1 3 I f I share 6d between
than the other how much does the more for t unat e boy get
I
f
telegraph
poles
stand
in
a
straight
row
yards
apart
4
5
what is the distance from the first to the eighth
1 5 A man walking at the rate
f 4 miles an hour pursues
another man who has had hour s start and walks at the rate of
h
miles
an
hour
H
OW
long
will
it
take
pursuer t o catch the
t
3
other man
1 6 I f a man s salary i
reduced by
per cent and then
increased by per cent s t ate whether he loses or gains and by
what percentage
.
2
.
.
,
.
2
.
,
.
S
.
e
.
.
a
.
o
n
,
.
.
s
.
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O
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.
,
e
.
a
.
.
0
.
.
0
.
1
.
.
,
a
2
2s
.
,
,
,
s
.
,
s.
.
.
.
.
2
.
.
,
1
0
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,
O
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an
’
s
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’
e
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10
,
,
10
.
,
CHAPTER VII
A B S UR D I TI ES
As I have myself made extensive use of absurdities
as group tests both in the free form and in the fool
proof form I will deal with this type of test in
some detail
Binet seems to have been the first to employ
absurd statements as a test of intelligence He
used the following five absurdities which he
allotted to the eleventh year in the 1 90 8 scale and
t o the tenth in the revised scale of 1 9 1 1
‘
O
ne
day
a
man
fell
on
his
head
o
ff
a
l
d
was
instan
ly
i
1
b
t
( )
y
killed He was taken to the hospital and they say he will never
get bett er
—
I
have
three
brothers
Pau
l
rnes
t
and
mysel
f
E
( )
( 3) O nce the body of a poor girl was found in wood cut into
eighteen pieces They say that she killed herself
t
Y
esterday
here
was
railway
accident
but
the
ne
spaper
w
;
(4)
says it i not a serious one as only forty eight people were killed
I
f
A
man
once
said
should
ever
grow
desperate
and
kill
I
(5)
myself I shall ot choose a Friday to do it on for Friday is
unlucky day and would bring me bad luck
In order to pass the test the child must detect
three out of the five absurd ities
By wa y of criticism it may b e remarked that four
out of the five deal w ith murder or sudden death
that three depend on the sa m e basal fact (th e fact
that a dead man is dead and c a n neither a c t n or
,
,
.
.
,
,
c
e e an
.
.
2
.
,
,
a
.
,
.
a
s
-
.
,
n
,
”
.
.
44
an
AB SURD ITIE S
45
su ff er) th at they are not equally easy ; that they
are not arranged in precise order of difficulty ; and
that there is some doubt a s to the year to which
they should be allocated B urt considers No 3
harder than NO 4 and No 5 so hard that it is
more suitable for children of eleven or twelve
Terman keeps the test in the tenth year but
Goddard and Kuhl m ann place it in the eleventh
year Terman however makes t wo substitutions
Omitting No 2 because in some languages the expres
sion is idiomatically correct and No 5 because it
is too hard he substitutes the following
A
man
said
know
a
road
from
my
house
to
the
city
I
( )
which i downhill all the way to the City and downhill all the way
”
back home
t
t
An
engineer
said
ha
more
cars
he
had
in
rain
t
t
h
hi
t
h
( )
faster he could go
T o compensate for the easier items Terman
requires four t o be correct instead of three
Of the other absurdities which have from time
t o time been suggested a s alternatives t o Binet s th e
best are these
t
t
I
This
morning
I
m
a
smar
young
man
He
was
walk
i
ng
e
( )
down the street with his hands in his pockets and t wirli g a brand
new walking stick (Wh ipple )
i
hen
there
a
collision
the
las
t
carriage
of
a
train
usually
W
i
s
( )
damaged mos t S the guard t hinks it would be bes t if t h las t
carriage was always t aken ff before the train star t s (Yerkes )
l
t
I
An
rishman
cal
ed
one
day
the post off ice and asked if
( 3)
there was letter waiting for him
Wh at is your name i asked
”
the postmaster
S ure said t h man you will fi nd my name
”
on the envelope
A
boy
wrote
in
his
composition
S
oap
smel
n
i
ce
but
l
(4)
”
t as t es horrid
I t tas t es wors t of all when you get it in your eye
.
.
.
.
,
.
,
.
.
,
,
.
.
,
,
1
“
:
s
.
e
2
s
e
.
.
’
.
n
,
.
s
2
O
.
e
O
.
.
a
a
.
.
,
e
,
.
s
:
.
The value
.
of
this type
Of
t est
is
b eyo n d ques tio n
.
6
4
GROUP TESTS OF INTELLIGENCE
Those wh o have extensively used it agree with
Terman who says
The detection of abs u rdities
is one of the most ingenious and serviceabl e tests
of the entire scale It is little in fl uenced by school
ing and it comes nearer than any other to being a
—
test of that sp ecies of mother wit which we c all
”
common sens e
And again
It is an invalua b le
”
test for t h e higher grades of mental deficiency
Valuable as these particular tests are for detecting
the dull witted and for marking a certain stage of
mental development they are of little use in
di ff er entiating ordinary adults Terman observes
that by twelve years of age critical ability is so far
d eveloped that the test is nearly always passed
This may be so if it is given in the form prescribed
by Binet but if we alter the mode of administering
the test we get quite di ff erent results Binet s
absurdity tests are oral and individual ; the child
is told b eforehand that each sentence contains some
thing that is S illy and he is asked t o discover it
B ut if on the other hand the child is left in doubt
wheth e r the statement is sensible or silly ; if he is
told th a t it may be either the one or the other and
is aske d to say which and give h is reasons and
especially if he is asked to write those reasons down
the diff iculty of the task is greatly increased Binet s
—
plan gives t wo possibilities to find th e absurdity or
—
not to find it The other plan gives three to j udge
the sent ence sensible or to j udge it absurd without
being able to explain the absurdity or to j udge it
abs u rd and to explain the absurdity
The di ff erence is exemplified by a test which I
have frequently used : Captain Cook made three
voyages round the world In one of these voyages
,
.
,
.
.
-
,
.
.
’
.
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
’
.
.
,
.
,
.
.
AB SURD ITIES
47
—
Which voyage wa s it the
he was kill ed by savages
first the second or the third
Although not pre
c isel
confor
ng
to
the
type
described
above
this
m
i
y
is clearly an absurdity test admitting of three possible
answers ; and if when the third voyage is given a
reason is demanded the number of possibilities is
increased to four It is di ff icult to conceive that a
lad of thirteen years of age with his wits about him
could fail to give the right answer and the right
explanation Yet as a matter of fact about 40 per
cent of them do fail ; at least they d o so when the
test is written and not oral Few give the wrong
voyage (although about 5 per cent do even this)
but those wh o select the third voyage cannot always
Show th at they decide on logical grounds
I therefore set about devising a series of absurdity
tests which would be free from the ma in obj ections
urged against the Binet absurdities which would
vary in difficulty and in the type of incongruity and
which could suitably b e appli e d t o older pupils
Th e tests I used in an investigation comprise 3 4
absurdities mixed with a few quasi absurdities
statements which at first blush seem absurd but are
not really so I give below the 3 4 real absurdities
arrange d in increasing order of di ffi culty They are
derived from various sources Some I have remem
bered some (not many) I have invented and some
have been suggested t o me by friends
.
,
,
,
,
,
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.
.
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.
,
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,
,
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-
.
.
.
,
,
.
—O
the top of the paper write the name of your
school your name and your age in years and months
S ome of the following sayings are sensible and some are foolish
and you must say which of them are sensible and which are foolish
D not write out the saying but simply put its number on your
”
paper and write after it the word sensible or foolish I f
I nst ruct ion s
,
.
u
.
,
,
.
o
,
”
“
.
GROUP TESTS O F INTELLIGENCE
8
4
you wr ite the word sensible you need say nothi ng more ; b ut
if you write t h word foolish you must give rea son for your
O pinion
“
e
a
.
Sec t ion A
A
soldier
writing
h
me
to
his
mother
said
I
am
writing
o
)
(
thi s letter with sword in one hand and pistol in the other
is
said
that
a
certain
town
in
G
reece
contains
two
relics
of
t
I
( )
S t Paul ; one his skull when he was boy and the other hi skull
when he was man
An
old
gentleman
complained
that
he
could
no
longer
walk
( 3)
round the park he used to he could now only go half way
round and back again
the
year
many
more
women
got
married
than
men
I
(4)
9 5
( 5) A hunter who had used up all his ammunition was chased
by a bear A bright idea struck hi m he would climb tree
When he got to the top he remembered that t h bear could also
C limb tree ; but he g ot out of hi difficulty by pulling the tree
up after him
(6) Light comes from the sun ; feathers are ligh t ; therefore
feathers come from the sun
I
:
”
a
a
.
2
a
.
a
s
,
.
as
-
:
.
1
n
1
.
a
:
.
.
e
,
a
s
.
Sect ion B
t
o
t
A
boy
who
wan
ed
go
to
a
cinema
had
no
money
b
t
u
(7)
t hought it would be a g ood plan t o walk in backwards for the man
at the door would thi nk he was going out and would ot ask for
his ticke t
t
8
A
eacher said to his boys To morrow we hold scripture
( )
examination attendance t whi ch i s voluntary ; so if any boy i
absent he had be t ter look ut
(9) A soldier in the march complained t ha t every man in t h
regimen t was out of step except hi mself
( ) A sailor who was put to haul in rope from the sea found
it so long that he gave it up in disgust saying t ha t somebody must
have cut the end ff
( ) The moon is more useful t han t h sun for it gives us ligh t
in the night when we really need i t while the sun gives us light
in the day when we don t need it
hi
T
s is a sad and bitter world we never s t rew flowers on
( )
a man s grave un t il he is dead
t
A
s
ammerer who came from Birmingham t o live i n London
( 3)
,
,
,
n
,
.
-
a
s
a
,
o
”
.
e
.
10
a
,
o
.
11
e
,
’
.
12
:
’
.
1
,
GROUP TEST S
0
5
OF
INTELLIGENCE
t
J
ohn
J
ames
who
had
married
his
w
i
dow
s
Sis
er
used
to
( )
say that if a man had a bad sister it was his misfortune but if he
had a bad wife it was hi faul t
t
u
t
t
Y
ou
are
thin
and
am
thin
he
is
h
i
nner
han
both
2
b
I
6
;
)
(
of us put together
O
ne
should
never
e long words when s h or t ones will do
2
u
( 7)
jus t as well for when the words are long the meaning i obscured
by the unusualness of the terminology and i ntelligibility i
consequently endangered
t
h
The
three
men
laughed
t
hen
s
t
opped
suddenly
as
8
;
( )
eyes of each m t those of t h o t hers across t h t able
t
t
atching
pigs
wallow
i
ng
in
the
mire
he
mu
ere
d
N
W
( 9)
”
wonder they are called pigs
’
25
,
,
,
s
.
,
.
s
s
,
s
,
.
e
2
e
e
e
2
.
O
:
,
.
Sec t ion E
t
A
man
who
bough
t
a
dog
tha
t
had
been
adver
i
sed
com
( )
plained t the seller that the dog s legs were too short The Seller
replied
They are long enough to reach the ground aren t
t hey i what more do you want i
( 3 ) A showman advertised for a giant and a dwarf A man of
ordinary height presented himself and offered to fill both parts
He claimed to be the sm llest giant in t h world and the bigges t
dwarf
( 3 ) While s t anding near a clock tower jus t before t h clock
s t ruck twelve two b oys tried to fi nd out which of them could hold
his breath the longer Neither of them won ; for one was able
t
hold his breath from the first stroke of the clock t o the s ix t h
and the other from the sixth to the t welfth
E
very
rule
even
this
one
has
an
exception
( 3 3)
The
horse
obeys
his
master
because
his
eyes
magnify
so
3
( 4)
that his master seems to the horse to be much larger than t h
horse himself
0
3
’
o
.
’
:
,
1
.
.
e
a
.
2
e
.
o
,
.
,
,
.
,
e
.
The plan I adopted in setting th e test was to give
each child a cyclo s tyled copy of 3 8 state m ents
comprising the 3 4 real absurdities intersp ersed with
four spurious absurdities Th e four sp u rious ones
arranged in increasing order of diffi culty were :
-
.
,
,
AB SURD ITIE S
A man may live many years on a crust—the crus t of the
( )
1
earth
5
1
.
l
An
old
woman
sa
i
d
tha
t
she
was
so
d
tha
t
in
a
f
ew
years
( )
t ime she woul d be t wice as old as she was fort years ago
y
hi
b
ught
my
little
boy
a
watch
w
ch
was
said
to
give
the
o
I
( 3)
right time t wice a day ; it turned out to be dummy watch with
fixed hands
t
li
t
The
commonest
word
in
h
ng
sh
language
tha
t
is
Spel
E
)
(4
”
t h same way backwards and fo wards is
a
2
’
O
.
a
.
e
r
e
.
Any o t hers of the same kind would have served
j ust a s well for whatever answer was given it wa s
Only the real absurdities were c on
n ot scored
sid ere d in estimating the results
The time allowed wa s unlimited
The su b j ects
were asked t o hand in their papers a s soon a s they
were finished
The sectional classification of th e a b surdities is
based on th e percentage of adults wh o succeeded in
detecting them Each question in Section A wa s
correctly answered by over 8 0 per cent of adults
each in Section B by between 60 and 80 per cent
each in Section C by between 40 and 60 per cent
each in Section D by betwe en 2 0 and 40 per cent
and each in S ection E by less than 2 0 per cent
Only 6 per cent dealt successfully with the last
quest i on
The tes t wa s given t o a ll children over eleven in
t wo elementary schools t wo central schools three
secondary schools on e day continuation school on e
evening school and on e train ing college Through
the kind help of Dr R R Rusk I was able t o secure
results from a few schools and a training college in
Scotland Altogether a b ou t
subj ects were
t ested
,
.
.
.
.
.
.
,
.
,
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,
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,
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,
,
,
,
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,
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.
.
.
.
GROUP TE STS OF INTELLIGENCE
2
5
The pap ers were a ll marked by myself or under
my supervision in accordance with the following
key
,
'
,
1
He had no hand free for writing
Both hands
occupied t
”
He couldn t write with a sword
W g
A man has t h same
N man has two skulls
Right
Skull as he had as a boy t
The distance i the same
Right
He was a sill y old man
W g
S ome may contend tha t there is nothing inherently absurd
in thi s since a widow widower bigamist or a
divorced person may dis t urb the balance S uch
answer i to be considered correct
Two points
The impossibil ity of pulling up the tree if
he was on it (ii) The futili ty of doing it I f one
point is given the test is passed
”
He could not pull up the tree if he was on it
Right
”
He had nowhere to put his foot except the tree
He had no fulcrum
”
I f he pulled the tree up he woul d fall down wi th it
He could not pull the t ree up
Wog
The logical fallacy must be detected
The word light is used in two senses
R ight
”
When we say fea t hers are light we mean weight
Feathers do not come from t h u
Wog
The answer mus t imply tha t the boy would still be moving
inwards
The man t t h door would see t ha t the boy was
Right
going in t out
”
The man at the door would stop him
W g
”
V oluntary means if you like
Right
The teacher should not punish a boy for b i ig
W g
”
absent
”
Right
He was out of s t ep hi mself
By cutting the end off the p is made shorter
Right
The p still has an end
”
You can t cut the end ff
W g
Rig ht
.
”
:
.
”
e c
,
’
ron
2
.
.
.
”
O
:
e
,
3
”
s
:
.
”
ron
4
.
e
.
”
.
“
.
,
,
,
,
an
.
s
5
.
.
:
”
”
.
,
.
.
.
”
.
.
:
r n
6
.
”
.
.
”
.
.
~
r n
7
.
e s
n
”
.
.
a
:
,
no
e
”
.
ron
8
.
“
.
,
3
ron
:
.
“
e r
.
9
10
.
.
:
.
rO
rO
ron
”
e
’
.
o
.
e
”
.
AB SURD ITIE S
11
.
Right
53
is the sun tha t makes the day
Wi t hout the sun there would be no day
The moon gets its light from the sun
A man has no grave until he is dead
”
The size f the t own makes no diff erence
You cannot have one larger withou t having the
”
other shorter
Both statements mean the same
The man who had one suit a year would have to be
satisfied with none
Two men and a boy cannot see far t her than one
man or one boy
”
W cannot add sights together
Anybody could see t h top
Two stoves would burn more than one
To save all his coal he must burn none at all
Two knots would ot m ke him remember be t ter
than one
I f the first knot would not remind him the second
”
would not ei t her
”
K nots can t make you remember
”
He contradicts himself
He first says that he is not conceited and then says
that he is
He says he does ot think himself clever and then
says that he does
Any answer will do that points out a con t radiction
be
ween
the
clauses
or
b
be
ween
t
h
t
tw
t
t
w
( )
()
parts of the second Clause
He could not eat less by g o g nto a t h p he
could only eat more
The advert isemen t asked you to eat less t meal
t imes
th
now did not mean t thi s moment
The boy assumes t hat he likes onions and t hat he
”
does ot like onions at t h same time
He con t radic t s himself He says I f I like t hem I
”
Should hate them
The 5 witnesses were ot real wit nesses t hey did
”
ot see anyt hi ng
O nly t hose who we e pre ent coul d giv real
”
vi d nce
”
It
.
”
.
Wrong :
Right
1 3 Right
1 4 Rig ht
12
.
:
.
:
.
:
”
.
”
.
O
.
“
.
”
.
15
.
Right
I
:
”
.
16
.
Right
”
.
e
Wrong
17
.
Right
.
”
e
.
”
.
”
.
18
.
Right
n
a
”
.
3
.
Wrong
19
.
Right
’
.
.
”
.
n
”
.
,
o
a
o
e
.
20
.
Right
In
ea - S
I
0
”
.
a
e
21
.
Right
”
a
n
.
e
.
.
,
.
22
.
Right
0
n
n
.
r
e
e
.
s
e
GROUP TESTS O F INTELLIGENCE
54
Any answer will do if it p ints ut that negative
evidence is in this case of no value
He might have said the same of any other mon t h
in the year
The fallacy consists in asserting t hat t o be t rue of a
particular month which is equally t rue of any other
month
There would still be a week from S unday to
S unday
”
I t would not Spli t the week
”
You can t shift S unday
S unday is the beginning of the week ot t h
end
If a man has a widow he is dead
Putting men t ogether makes them fa t ter not
thinner
The writer does ot follow his own advice
He tell s us to use shor t words and he himself uses
”
long ones
O ne man s eyes cannot meet two other men s eyes
”
at once
Pigs are not so called because they are d irty b ut it
is the other way about
Pigs is their proper name t heir dirtiness has noth ing
to do with it
Any answer will do if it suggests that the name is prior
Every dog s legs reach the ground
implying
tha
t
(
the buyer s objection to t his particular dog i not met)
Legs half inch long would reach the ground b ut
they would be of no use
The buyer meant that the legs were not long enough
to be useful or beau t iful
What the buyer meant was that the legs were ot
long enough to keep the body some di t ance from the
ground
A giant mus t be above t h ordinary height and a
”
dwarf below the ordinary height
S mallness is a bad quali t y in a giant and l rgenes
”
in dwarf
The second boy won for he held his breath for
six intervals while the firs t held it for five
o
o
.
23
Right
.
:
”
.
.
24
.
Right
:
”
.
.
Wrong
’
.
n
,
e
”
.
Right
2 6 Right
25
.
:
.
”
.
”
.
27
.
Right
:
”
n
.
,
.
28
.
Right
:
’
’
.
2
9
.
Right
,
”
.
,
.
3 0 Right
.
:
’
’
s
.
an
,
”
.
”
.
n
s
”
.
1
3
.
Right
:
e
,
.
a
,
a
32
.
Right
:
.
“
,
”
,
.
s
AB SURDITIE S
contradictory
33
Thi s itself i rule and the exception to it i that
there is a r ule which has no exception Therefore if
the rule is true it i also false
f
f
his
eyes
magnify
they
magni
y
everything
in
the
I
Ri
h
t
g
34
same proportion
I f he sees
man big he also sees another horse big
and sees hi own body big
This series of tests was devised and used for a
specific p urp ose t h e purpose of discovering the age
at which intelligence ceases t o grow I started
the investigation with a belief that it continued t o
grow right up t o the prime of life ; I ended it with a
belief that there was but little increase after I 5 or 1 6
years of age The evidence for this belief and the
various interpretations that c a n b e put upon th e
facts will be discussed in a later chapter It will
su ffice here t o give the average scor e obtained from
the whole number of children youths and maidens
whom I tested
Average s : I 3 I 1 4 4 1 5 I 1 7 4 1 8 5 1 8 9 1 8 9
.
Right
S elf
55
:
”
-
.
s a
s
.
”
s
.
:
.
”
.
a
,
”
s
.
g
.
.
,
.
,
,
,
.
°
°
Ag e
:
1
12
11
1
3
4
1
5
I6
As
17
two out of the four elementary schools tested
were central schools the nor m s for the ages 1 1 to 1 4
are higher than would be obtained if all the childr en
of those ages in large areas had been tested
Th e
same is true of the higher ages for these norms were
mainly secured from secondary schools where we
may fairly assume that only the brightest pupils
remain till they are 1 7
Those wh o wish t o repeat my experiments with
the sa m e tests c a n use either the whole series or an y
selection that would present the same diffi culty a s
the whole series As the questions are arranged in
,
.
,
.
.
6
5
GR O UP
TESTS OF
INTELLI G EN C E
order of d ifli c ul t y this selection may be made by
ta king alternate items or every third item or the
middle item of each section or t wo items from each
section equally removed from th e middl e of that
section or any other arrangement th at contains a
balanced number of easy and difficult items Having
made a selection however it would be well t o adhere
t o it for t h e whole I nqu i ry
for the series is not so
carefully standardised that the items rise in equal
steps selections made in accordance with the above
instructions will b e approximately not exactly of
equal di fficulty The obj ection t o using a s mall
number of items is that a few bright subj ects may
get them all right This is n ot likely to occur if
the full series be used None of my own subj ects
got more th an 3 2 marks out of th e total of 3 4 The
a b surdities should be mixed with a few pseudo
absurdities either those given above or any others
of a si m ilar kind
but the pseudo absurdities should
be ignored in marking the papers
The percentage of absurdities detected and
explained gives the grade of intelligence The
normal adult seems t o get about 5 0 per cent of
the marks
The same tests put into fool proof form are in
cluded in t h e set of intelligence tests which appear
in Chapter X IV
The aspect or mode of intelligence which a b
surdity tests call into play seems t o b e the power to
construct coherent wholes It is th at synthetic
power which Bosanquet regards a s essential f or
”
inference
Ultimately he says
the condition
of inference is alwa y s a s y stem
a group of
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
.
.
.
,
-
.
.
.
.
-
.
1
.
,
,
1
7 he Essentia ls
'
f
o
Logic,
1 0.
4
CHAPTER VI I I
GENE RAL
K
N O WL E D GE
S I N C E it is customa ry t o draw a sharp distinction
between intelligence and knowledge a test of pur e
knowledge is the last thing we should expect t o find
in an intelligence examination Yet here it stands a s
one of the eight Alpha Tests on e of the ten
National Intelli genc e Tests and on e of the six
Haggerty Tests
And the knowledge tested is
not always univers al knowledge
it is often
knowledge peculiar to one country one people
and on e p eriod
Binet s tests it is true test
knowledge ; but then it is knowledge common t o
the civilised world The scale would suffer n o
essential loss if it were translated into Chinese and
used t o test the children in the schools of far
Cathay But the Alpha Information Test is moored
The first of the 40
t o New Y ork and Chicago
—
items America was discovered b y Drake Hudson
—
Colum b us B alboa refers t o a matter of universal
knowledge and so in fact do several o t her items ;
but let the English reader try h is hand at thes e
,
.
,
,
.
,
,
’
.
,
,
.
.
.
,
Pinochl e is played with rackets card pins dice
6 Food products are made by S mith 8 Wesson S wif t 8 C
W L Douglas B T Rabbitt
i
Marguerite
C
lark
known
as
a
suffragis
singer
movie
actress
t
9
writer
2
s
.
:
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
s
.
.
58
c
O
.
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
59
Nabisco is a patent medicine disinfectan t food produc t
tooth paste
1 8 V elve t J oe appears in advertisements of tooth powder dry
goods t obacco soap
The National Intelligence questions are much
more general Cspecially in the anglicised version
Some of th em remind us of Ma g n a ll s Q uestions and
carry us back t o the days when The Ch ild s Guid e t o
K n owled ge was an ind ispensable school book
The
questions however are less exotic and are certainly
much easier for it is often unnecessary to re m ember
the right answer : it is su fli c ien t t o recognise it
or even t o infer it One of the questions f or
example runs thus
The Plymouth Rock i a kind of ca t tle fowl sands t one horse
If the examinee were inclined t o believe that the
Plymouth Rock is a sweetmeat or a religion the
a lternatives offered would at once dispel the belief
and if he h ad ever heard the term applied at all
could scarcely fail t o strike the right association
A roc ess of more complete elimination would
ena 1e h im with very imperfect knowledge t o answer
anoth e r question in the s ame test :
T
u
I l d tells about Black D g Fagin I vanhoe O li ver
17
-
.
.
-
.
.
.
,
’
’
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
s
.
,
,
,
,
.
rea s re
o
s an
He c a n give the right answer if he h as never read
Stevenson at all but is merely familiar with Dickens
and Scott The opportunity thus a ff orded of mak
in g t h e most of what knowledge on e h appens t o
possess is we may presu m e the only excuse for
regarding these tests a s intellig ence tests at all ;
unless indeed we fran kly accept t h e view that a
test of knowle d ge is also a test of intelligence
,
.
'
,
,
.
CHAPTER IX
T ES T S
FOR
I
LL I TE RAT E S
A LAR GE numb er of soldiers in the American Army
were so illiterate that they were unable to take the
Alph a examination For the m was d evised an alter
native series of tests known as the Beta examination
AS many of th es e illi terates were foreign immigrants
the examiner h ad to explain the nature of the task
t o be performed by gesture and b y demonstrat ion
on a blackboard
Th e first test wa s similar in kind t o Port eus s
.
.
,
,
,
.
’
FIG
—
well known mazes
.
1
.
—MA E ES T
T
Z
.
Th e examinee h ad t o trace
with a pencil the sh ortest way through the maze
O f the five mazes set the fourth is given in Fig I
The second tes t involved th e counting of a pile of
little cu b es represen t ed by a d ra wmg I n perspective
on
the examination paper
The twelfth and
thirteenth of the sixteen items are represen t ed in
.
.
,
.
.
60
.
TESTS FO R I LLITERATE S
61
Fig 2 The number of cubes h ad t o be inserted in
the squares beneath
The third test required the completion of 1 2
patterns made up of noughts and crosses It is
.
.
.
.
FIG
.
2
.
— BE
CU
AN
ALY S S TES T
I
.
illustrated in Fig 3 which represents the e ighth
and nin t h items
The fourth was a substitution test The subj ect
was given at the top of his paper the key reproduced
.
,
.
.
FI G
.
—
—
X
O S E R ES
3
.
I
.
in Fig 4 and was required to place in the squares
under th e digits the corresponding symbols T h e
first of six lines of digits is here given
The fifth test required the chec king of fifty pairs
—
of nu m bers num b ers which sometimes ran into
.
.
.
62
GROUP TESTS OF INTELLIGENCE
—b y placing a
X against those that
eleven fi g ures
were exactly the same (see p
The sixth test was b ased on Binet s missing
features test The page in th e B eta boo klet c on
.
’
.
FIG
.
—
D G T S Y MB O L T ES T
4
I
I
.
-
.
t a in e d 2 0
little pictures in each of which something
essential was missing This the examinee wa s
required t o supply The illustration in Fig 5 gives
four of these pictures
Th e seven th and last test consisted of ten squares
.
.
.
.
,
FIG
.
—
P C T O R AL
5
.
I
I
CO
M PL E T ON TES T
I
.
each of which could be dissected into or built up
from o ther geometrical figures placed by it s side
Lines had t o be drawn in the square to Show how
it coul d be constructed from the given elements
I illustrate the last t wo examples in Fig 6
,
,
.
.
.
.
TESTS FO R ILLITERATES
63
The times allowed for the seven tests were 2
2
and
2
minutes
respectively
%
3 3
Among the illiterates we must include children
under 1 0 years of age f or al t hough most children of
8 and 9 c a n read and write they cannot do so with the
necessary facility and the necessary uniformity
Group tests especially if there is a narrow time
limit presuppose that the pupils take approximately
the same time t o read the questions and where there
is writing t o do t o write the answers so that th e
,
,
,
.
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
FIG
.
6
.
,
—
G E O M E T R C AL
I
C ON
S T R UC T ON T ES T
I
.
differences I n the achievements are wholly due t o
di ff erences in the speed and accuracy of tho ught
But Children under 1 0 vary so much in speed of
reading and writing that this pre supposition is
never in point of fact realised If therefore they
are given tests of the pencil and paper type those
tests must be concerned with pictures diagrams and
figures rather than with printed words It follows
t oo that the instructions must b e oral
Tests of
this kind are somewhat rare The best known are
the Otis Primary Examination and the Haggerty
Intelligence Examination Delta I There are a few
others however which seem t o be equally good
such as the Myers Mental Measure ; the Pressey
Cross out Tests Pri m er Scale ; the Detroit First
grade Intelligence Test ; and the Kingsbury
Primary Group Intelligence Scale
.
-
.
,
,
,
.
,
.
,
.
.
,
,
,
-
,
.
64
GROUP TESTS OF INTELLIGENCE
The instructions type of test occurs in a variety of
for m s in all these scales The child is asked to do
—
something to a picture or group of pictures t o
insert a missing part ; to delete an irrelevant or
c orrect an absurd
item ; or si mply to identify and
mark a c ertain obj e ct or to draw a line from on e
part of the picture to another As a good example
of this kind of test I give in Fig 7 the second row of
little pict u res in the first test of the Otis Primary
Examination
.
.
,
,
,
.
.
.
FI G
.
—
I
N S T R C T O N S ES T ( O T S )
7
U
.
T
I
I
.
The instructions given by Otis f or this row of
pictures are as follows
I
Now
look
at
this
row
of
pictures
and
dra
w
( )
a circle round the doll (Pause 5 seconds )
2
Next
find
th
e
picture
of
something
th
at
can
( )
run and draw a line under it (Pause 5 seconds )
(3 ) Next find the picture that is b etween th e
doll and the candle and make a little cross under it
Pause
seconds
(
5
)
Next
find
th
e
picture
of
something
that
gives
(4)
light and c a n be picked up Make a round dot under
it (Pause 5 seconds )
(5) Next draw a line from the teddy b ear s ear
t o th e rabbit s ear th at will go under the sun
Pause
seconds
5
(
)
6
Next
find
the
picture
of
a
child
s
plaything
( )
that h as large ears and put a little circle under it
”
1
Pause
seconds
0
(
)
.
.
.
,
.
.
.
.
.
.
’
’
.
.
’
,
.
66
GR O UP TESTS OF INTELLIGENCE
en t ed in Fig 9 Th e pupil is required to draw a
C ircle round the picture of the obj ect th at is more
diff erent from the on e in the square th an any of
the others
A picture chec king t es t is some t imes used in th e
s
.
.
.
-
FIG
.
—
P C T O R AL O PP O S T E
9
I
.
I
I
(KI N
S
GSB R
U Y)
.
a me wa y a s a number checking test H agger ty h a s
a test which consists of little pictures arrang e d in
pairs right down th e page If the members of the
pair a re t h e same the child h a s t o place an 8 between
them if they are different he h a s to place a D
s
-
.
.
,
‘
.
,
FIG
.
IO
.
—
ES T
D E T R O T S M LAR T S
I
I
I
I
IE
T
.
Another form of similarities test which appears
in the Detroit First grade Intell igence Test is
ill ustrated in Fig 1 0 The pupil is directed t o
mark the first leaf and then mark the other leaf th at
looks ust like it
Otis s method of presenting the similarities test
is illustrated in Fig I I
The pupil is directed to
loo k at the firs t three pictures and see h ow they a re
-
.
.
.
’
.
.
TE STS FOR ILLITE RATE S
67
alike ; then he h a s t o select from among the other
five pictures the on e that is most like th e first three
and put a cross under it
Similarities pass into Cla ssifica t ion Miss Engel
,
.
.
FI G
11
.
.
,
—OT S S S M L R T ES ES T
I
'
I
I
A
I
wh o
T
I
.
devised the Detroit scale presents a series
of tasks like the on e illustrated in Fig
The
12
pupil is asked t o mark three thin gs made of wood
The Myers Mental Measure although it consists
,
.
.
.
.
,
Q
FIG
12
.
.
—D E T R O T CLA SS F C A T ON TES T
I
I
I
I
.
entirely of pictures is claimed b y it s author t o b e
appl i cable t o all ages It certainly h a s a much Wi der
range than the other picture scales and runs I nto
higher degrees of di ffi culty A b out half the test s
,
.
.
—
£
1
G
? FI
—
M E R S C LA SS F C A T ON T ES T
3
19
FI G
.
1
’
Y
I
I
I
423?
.
are cl assific ation tests of which Fig 1 3 gives a
specimen
The examinee is told th at there are four things
and only four things in the row th at are alike in som e
way and he is asked to draw lin es under them
”
The k eyword f or this row is b ipe ds
.
,
.
,
,
.
,
.
68
GROUP TE STS O F IN TELLI GE NCE
uses a felicitous f orm of th e digit
a ssociation test th e k e y for wh ich is given in Fig 1 4
The test r equires the insertion of the right digit s
under a long and mixed series of the pictures
H aggerty
.
.
,
.
F IG
.
14
,
—HA GG E R T S A SS O C A T ON TES T
Y
’
I
I
.
I t will b e observed th at the relationship b etween
the numb er and the pictures is not arbitrary b ut
such th at an intelligent Ch ild would immedia t ely
,
—
K
M PL E T ON TES T
discern and th us b e saved th e t ime and t r o u b l e
repea t ed reference t o the key
FIG
.
15
.
’
1 N G S E UR Y S
CO
I
.
of
.
Fig
.
I
i
ustrates
two
items
ll
5
FI G
.
16
.
—K N GS B R S
I
U Y
’
of
FO
’
Kings b ury s
R M TES T
m
co
.
test The up il is as k ed to fill in th e b lan k s
so a s t o complete t 1
pe series
Kingsbury also presents an interes t ing varie ty of
th e geome t rical f orm t est The pup il is r equired
e t ion
l
p
.
.
.
TE STS F O R ILLITE RATE S
69
t o find among t h e four blocks t o the right th e on e
which when fitted into the b lock t o th e left will
mak e the latter a solid square Fig 1 6 exemplifi es
this tes t
The Primer S cale of t h e Indiana Mental Survey
.
.
.
O C D A
E J
FI G
.
17
.
—TH E
PR
ESSE Y CR OSS
-
OU T
T
ES TS—P R ME R
I
SC
AL E
.
Tests consists of pictorial analogues of the Pressey
Cross out Tests Mrs Pressey thus describes these
tests in the 7 ourn a l of Ed uca tiona l Psyc h ology for
Septem b er 1 9 1 9
The scale consists of four tests each of twenty
fi v e items a total of on e hundred items in all
-
.
.
.
,
-
.
GR O UP TESTS OF INTELLIGENCE
0
7
In a ddition there are five examples for each test
The first row of items f or each test is reproduced (in
Fig
In the first test the children are asked to
cross out the extra dot In the second they are
told to cross out in each square the thing th at is
di ff erent from the other two things in the square
In the third they are t o cross out in each square
the block that will be left over after all the oth er
blocks have b een fitted into the four for m s at the
And in the fourth they are
t op of the page
to cross out in each picture the part that is
”
wrong
Three minu t es are allowed f or each of
th e four tests
.
.
,
.
,
,
,
.
,
,
.
.
.
,
,
,
X
CHAPTE R
G R O UP T E STI N G
E N G LA N D
E N G L AN D
IN
is not yet alive to
of
mental tests
th e full import and
significance
Her ps ychologists
have n ot seriously attacked the problem of testing
intelligence b y simple and expeditious me thods
over a large field Such group tests a s h ave been
used here in past years h ave n ot been designed a s
general scales of measurement b ut as means to the
solution of S pecial educational pro b lems Mr W
H Winch h a s derived man y excellent group tests
—
b ut they are a d hoc tests tests f or on e particular
purpose Th e nearest approach to a general scale
Mr Cyril Bur t who
is h is set of reasoning t ests
h a s devoted himself more exclusively t o the mea sur
ing of intelligence h a s given us a number of valuable
group tests which are likely to be widely used The
Bradford Education Committee h a s recently used
some of them f or the selection of scholarship chil
dren And the Northum b erland Education Com
m it t ee h a s followed suit and asked Professor Godfrey
Th omson t o devise f or the same purpose the set of
tests which will be descri b ed in the next chapter
English psychologists h ave never taken very
kindly to the time tests n or are they quite recon
c iled to the fool proof test They suspect th e tim e
t est of favouring a superficial smartness and they sur
.
[
.
,
.
.
.
.
,
.
.
.
,
,
.
.
.
-
.
,
I
7
GR O UP TE STS O F INTELLIGENCE
2
7
mise that in ma king a tes t fool proof we deprive it
of much of it s value
Since however the relative
merits of the various types of testing have never
been experimen t ally determined the questions
at issue are still regarded a s open and American
me thods are being cautiously and vigilantly tried
A noteworthy stage in the progress of mental
testing is marked by the conversion of the Civil
Service Commissioners In the Civil S ervice com
et it iv e examinations f or w omen C lerks in October
p
1 2 0 there appeared f or the first t i me a section
9
headed Intelligence T ests Th e question paper
contained 1 4 tests on e on each page Exactly two
minutes were allowed f or each test Every t wo
minutes a bell wa s rung and th e candidate h ad t o
turn over a new page and tackle a new tes t Marks
w ere allowed f or every item done right and deducted
f or every on e done w rong
S o guessing wa s n ot
encouraged ; n or wa s it bet t er t o h ave tried and
failed th an never to h ave t ried at all As the general
structure and pattern of this paper h a s b een followed
in su b sequent Civil S ervice examinati o ns it is w orth
while t o describe it in de t ail
The first test is an instruc t i o ns t es t o f wh ich I
quo t e t wo items out o f Six :
-
.
,
,
,
,
.
.
.
.
,
’
.
.
.
.
,
.
f
o
In
the
follo
w
ing
list
words
dra
w
circles
round
4
three so th at two mean things belonging t o th e same
class whilst the third means t hat Class
.
f ood
ma t t o n sal t Sunday cake
a con t inuous line passing under the firs t
word in the f ollowing list through the second and
over th e third and then repea t the O peration when
6 D raw
.
,
,
,
,
G
R
O
UP
T
E
STS
OF
INTELLIGENCE
74
60
words which is followed b y five simple
questions on it s meaning It is in fact a silen t
reading test Test XI I is similar
Th ough all the tests are admira b ly devised it is
n ot till we come t o Test XII I th at we find a marked
element of novelty The other tests are all original
in res ec t of content but not in respect of form
Test II I is original in form a s well It b egins
thus
F or ea ch quest ion see wha t one two or t hree (n ot
t
a
s
a
e
t
a
e
s
e
m
k
e
b
e
s
t
h
more) c onsecut ive word s o
h
f
g
p
Un d er ea ch of these word s write the n umber
a nswer
u
o
o
n
t
e
s
t
i
T
r
t
d
n
e
a
a
e
a
m
l
e
s
x
h
e
h
e
s
i
s
n
f
fi
o
q
p
ust
a s wildness is found in some youths but not
J
in all so too avarice sets it s b rand unmistaka b ly on
a small number of O ld men b ut not on th e rest
or
,
.
,
,
.
.
,
.
.
,
.
i
,
,
,
.
.
.
,
,
.
,
1
1
1
Every age h a s vices to which it is specially lia b le
but none t o which it is b ound b y fatal nec essit y
1
H ow man y O ld men are here found fault with f
2
Wh a t fault is said to occur in some yo ung
,
.
.
.
men
Four m o re questions follow Tes t XIV is t h e
same
Th ere is manifes t th roughout the wh ole paper the
in fl uence of America no less in the form of the test
than in the mode of procedure The time li mit
is imposed throughout and all b u t four of the tes t s
are fool proof
O ne of the ques t ions set at a la t er examina t ion
came perilously near a hoax : Descri b e the wedding
dress of Q ueen Eliza b eth
Si milar to th e Northum b erland T es t s in general
structure and in mode of procedure is the Simplex
.
.
'
,
.
,
-
.
.
G ROUP TE STING IN E NGLAND
75
Group Intelligence Scale by Mr C A Richardson
It h as however a larger variet y of tests and takes
about twice as long t o work
Under the enterprising leadership of Mr T G
T ib b ey the Education Research Committee of the
London Head Teachers Association h ave ex p eri
men t ed with group tests of intelligence and have
pronounced them sound and practica b le
Group tests with important bearings on the
theory of intellig ence have been carried out by the
psychological sta ff of Univ e rsity College London
under the direction of Professor Spearman
.
,
.
.
.
,
.
.
.
.
,
’
.
.
,
.
C HAPTE R XI
N O RT H UM B E RLA N D MEN TAL
THE
T E STS
T H R O U GH the courtesy of Professor G odfrey
Thomson (the author) and Messrs Harrap 8: C o
o
the
publishers
I
am
able
present
in
full
the
t
(
)
N ort h umb erla n d Mental Tests which seem t o me t o
b e the most promising of recent attempts t o improve
upon scholarship examinations
The primary ob
ec t of the tests was
to
discover
gifted
children
j
worthy of free secondary education among ele
mentary schools of the county of Northumberland
which h ad not this year sent in any candidates f or
the orthodox examinations in English and mathe
mati es on which such free scholarships are usually
”
aw arded
Twenty scholarships were presented
The tests how
on the results of the inquiry
ever were given not only t o th e 4 1 4 scholarship
candidates but also for purposes of st a n d a rd iza
tion and comparison to nearly
other Children
One of the most interesting facts brought t o light
wa s that the most intelligent children in the
county are t o b e found not in the large towns
.
.
,
1
.
.
.
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
1
the
Par t
For a comple t e account of
B ritish
D
,
3
7
0urn a l
ecember
1
9
f
o
2 1,
experiment and it resul t s see
h l gy (G eneral S ec t ion) vol xii
Psy c
pp
.
t he
s
oo
201
—
22
76
,
,
.
.
,
NORTHUMBE RLAND ME NTAL TE ST S
77
nor yet in the small country towns and villages
—
b ut in th e remote country places especially
among th e Cheviots
Y et at th e usual scholar
sh ip examination these Children cannot successfully
compete with children wh o attend e ffi cient ur b an
sch ools b ut wh o are considerably inferior in na t ural
a b ility
Although the tests are presented a s the American
t ests are in p amphlets which constitute b oth a
ques t i o n paper and an answer paper there is a wide
di ff erence in th e details of presentation The
American paper h a s t o be worked through piece
meal each test (th a t is each group of similar
questions) having it s own time limit and the exam
iner with stop watch in h and giving instructions
in accordance with a fixed and fairly ela b orate p ro
gramme The Northumberland examination is in
comparison simplicity itself All the supervisor h a s
t o d o is t o see th at the names and ages are properly
given and that the Children h ave exactly on e hour
t o work th e paper SO while the American tests are
”
—
—
fool proof at on e end the marking end th e
Northumberland tests are fool proof at b oth
ends ; it is almost impossible t o make a mist a k e in
administering them almost impossible t o make a
mistak e in mar king them
Professor Th o mson h as n o dou b t acted wisely
in rej ecting the time limi t f or individual tests but
he h a s in so doing renounced on e marked advantage
—
O f th e time limit
th e advantage th at th e candidate
is compelled t o distribute his time reasonably
over the whole paper This di fficulty h a s h ow
ever b een f oreseen and forestalled Th e six t ests
h a ve b een so divided and arranged th a t i t is
,
.
,
.
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
-
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
.
-
-
,
.
,
,
,
.
?
,
.
8
7
GR O UP TE STS OF INTELLIGENCE
almost impossi b le f or any on e of th em to be
neglected
T o preven t nervousness and a sense of strangeness
at the examination a preliminary practice test wa s
given the day before All the necessary instructions
were printed on the papers themselves none h ad
t o be given by the supervisors
The practice test is given on page 79 and the
examination prop er on the pages th at follow Some
of the tests will be f amiliar to the reader b ut there
—
are two the Hindustani Test and the Extra Number
—
Test which were invented b y Professor Thomson ;
—
and there are t wo others t h e Middle Word Test
—
and the Schema Test which though b ased on the
work of Professor Stern of Ham b urg are new in the
form of pres entation
Professor Thomson s account of his scheme of
m arking is a s é f ollows
The rule for marking the tests wa s in general
that only the ex a c t answer gained points This
requires interpretation in several cases however as
given on pages 88 and 8 9
There are 60 items in the tests in all and for
simp licity the marking wa s made quite straight
fo rward and the score wa s the number of items
correct
The rules prescribed will appear ar b itrary in
some instances but they are b ased on an examina
tion of a large number of cases and appear t o
be more j ustifiable th an other alternatives
It
must b e remembered that all the tests are in
part directions tests ; disobeying directions should
therefore lose points even if the answer is in
.
,
,
.
.
,
.
,
,
.
’
.
,
,
.
,
.
,
.
t ellig ib le
.
NORTHUMBERLAND MENTAL TE STS
79
N O RTHUMB ERLAND M ENTAL TES T S
T HE
You ha ve
min utes
ten
f
or t his tes t
P RAC T C E T ST
Look t t hese words
Roof house h t head
You see t ha t a roo f does to h ou wha t a h t does to a head Look
t these
t
S hee wool
p
T he f our t h word is not given but y ouknow it mus t be fur
S heep
have wool and ca t s have fur Look t these
S wimming wa t er flying gun air cork
Here t h ee words are prin t ed in the four t h place and you have to
pick t h right one and underline it ( I t is air ) Now try t under
line the proper word in each of the following lines (Underline the
words heavily and plainly so t ha t they are easily seen )
S now whi te grass army coal green
E t bread drink iron wa t er s t ones
S ailor navy soldier figh t gun army
mon
th
day
week
year
July
M
S uccess failure joy
pleasure
work
sadness
Flour mill er obtrsweep black corn
Nor t h sou t h left eas t right behind
Frame picture lake Window island pho t ograph
K nowledge i norance
darkness
W
isdom
red
g
K nown unknown present gra t i t ude weeping fu t ure
S orrow misfortune joy grief happiness success
Add subtract multiply increase di vide add
Potato vegetable veal calf fruit mea t
C haracter reputa t ion t ruth brave opinion li e
The tes t s you will have will of course ot be quite the same as
this and t hey will las t an hour instead of ten minutes But like
t h is tes t t hey can all be done by following the instruc t ions exactly
a nd everybody will be able t o do some of them
E
I
a
a
.
se
a
a
.
a
ca
.
,
a
.
.
,
,
r
,
e
o
.
.
.
.
:
,
a
,
:
.
,
,
.
,
:
s
.
,
,
:
.
,
:
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,
,
,
.
,
,
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,
,
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,
,
:
,
:
.
,
,
,
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,
,
:
.
,
.
,
.
,
,
.
,
n
,
.
,
.
GROUP TESTS OF INTELLIGENCE
80
THE N ORT HUMBERLAND MENTAL TESTS
The Superv isor shoul d
b irt hd a y
c ec k a ge a n d
h
.
Name
Standard
To
-
’
day s
Wa it f or
t he sig na l
bef ore you
t urn over
.
There are some eas y questions inside and y ou have
t o answer them as quickl y and carefully a s you c a n
B egin at the b eginning and go straight through
If any on e is t oo h ard for you miss it out You have
an hour to do them in If t h ere is no cloc k in the
room you will b e told the time every quarter of an
hour Stay t ill the end
.
.
.
,
.
.
.
Ask
no
q
ues t ions
a
t
a
ll
.
82
G R OUP TE STS O F INTELLIGENCE
T ES T A3
R ead the f o ll owing paragraph caref ully and c om
pare it with the diagram The diagram gives the
same facts a s the paragraph
.
.
P
A RA G RA P H
Mr and Mrs Adams had three Chi ldren ( I ) Ethel
2
the
eldest
Mabel
and
ames
the
youngest
(
( 3) J
) ( )
(
)
Ethel marri ed Mr Thomas Hawthorn and their son
was named Timothy J ames married Miss Bridget
Mortimer and they had two children ( 1 ) Edward
and ( 2 ) Elizab eth
D AG RAM
Mr and Mrs Adams
,
.
,
,
.
,
.
I
.
T
homas Hawt horn
Et
hel
Mabel
J ames
dward
E
Bridge t Mor t imer
lizabe t h
E
Now answer these questions (the first
answered for you t o show what is wanted)
Wha t rela t ion i
s
T
imo t hy t o Mabel
How m any aun t s has Edward P
Wh a t is Timo t hy s surname
’
Wha t
is Elizabe t h s surname
’
Who is Timo t hy s uncle
’
1
.
t wo
are
NORTHUMBERLAN D M E NTAL TE STS
TEST
83
A4
I n your min d (without w it i g t h m d ow ) you have t o arrange the
five words in each line below in their proper or d er and the
underli ne t h middle word f t his or der For example consider
mi nu t e second year hour week
n
r
e
n
n
,
e
O
.
,
their proper order t hese words would run t hus secon d mi nu t e
hour week year The middle wor d is hour and therefore hour is
underlined above
S im ilarly shilli ng is t h middl e word of t h i
nex t set
Sixpence penny florin sovere ign
sh illing
Now try t o do the nex t t es t s i n t his way
elephan t
sheep
mouse cow puppy
t
forty
t hi rty
fi fty
t wenty
In
,
,
.
,
,
s
e
.
.
en
TES T
A5
You h ave t o cross out t h ex t ra
following lines For example in
number on each of
e
.
t he
,
6
8
2
Z
you cross out 7 because it is t h only
in being even numbers
I t his nex t case
e
4
Od d
10
number all t h res t agree
e
,
.
n
7
4
you cross out
Aga i n in
6
8
because it i
s the
19
E
.
15
3
3
32
only number i n double fi gures
6
9
.
12
you cross out 1 4 because all t h res t are d ivisi ble by 3
”
Try t o fi nd and cross ut plainly t h
ex t ra number in
each of t h following lines
e
o
.
e
“
e
18
5
75
I
7
16
9
62
49
4
8
20
12
3
4
1
7
20
IO
15
25
4
24
13
I
8
G R OUP TES T S
84
OF
I N TE LLIG E N C E
T ES T A6
The sentences b elow are in a foreign language
and their meanings are given i n English In each
English sentence a word is underlined and y ou
have t o underline the word which c orresponds to it
in the f oreign sentence You c an d o t hi s b y c om
parin g the sentences wi th eac h o th er For example
loo k at these
I
Kuchh mala i
some- cream
2
K uchh pur i l og e
E ll you t ake some ake
will you t ake sugar
3 Misri l og
By comparing 1 and 2 yo u see that k uc hh mus t
mean some b ecaus e it occurs in b oth s entences
Underline it in sentence 1 b efore y ou go any f urther
By comparing 2 and 3 y ou see that
will you tak e Underline it in 3
word you do n ot know i n 2 is uri which must mean
cake so underline it in 2
on have n ow un der
lined in each f oreign sentence the word correspond
ing to the underlined part of the English s entence
Not ice t ha t the f oreign word s a re n ot a lwa ys in the
,
.
,
.
.
,
.
.
c
e
.
e
.
e
.
.
.
.
,
.
sa
me
ord er a s t he
English word s
.
Underlin e your words plainly
You have n ot t o write anythi ng only t o underline
Now try thes e :
the proper words
Ek piyala
A cup of t
Y ih chae bahu t h hhi ha i
Th is i very goo d t
Chae b ilkull t ai yar hai
K b t aiya r karoge
Wh en shall you make ready P
Main bahu t py s hun
t hi rs t y
I am
I t i s very good
Bahu t h hh i ha i
Yih mera rumal nahin h i
Thi s is not my ha
.
,
.
ea
ac
.
s
c
ea
a
_
a a
ac
.
c
.
a
.
N O RTHU MB E R LAN D MEN TAL
Y
o
u
ma
y
turn
back
(
TE S TS 8 5
read examples if you wish
d o so )
to
to
.
TES T B 1
C ross
out plainly the extra
following lines
charit y
kindness benevolence
square
circular
O blong
needle
tack
nail
coal
bread
coke
bran
wool
co t t o
hair
fea t hers
wool
n
TE ST
w ord in eac h of the
revenge
hexagonal
knife
wood
hemp
grass
riangular
pin
paper
ju t e
fur
t
B2
Give the number that comes next in eac h of the
f ollowing lin es
3
27
81
15
11
9
2
7
11
6
9
8
4
12
6
7
5
9
8
I
17
I
Cr oss out th e
f ollowing lines
7
6
5
TE ST
B3
ex t ra
26
3
18
22
3
81
27
8
2
16
28
21
7
”
7
num b er in each
7
1
3
13
O
24
6
12
I I
I
3
32
9
6
4
35
I4
27
I
‘
7
.
of
the
86
G R O UP TE STS O F INTELLIG E NCE
TE ST
Mr
and
Mrs S mi th
Mr
and
B4
n
Mrs J o
Mr
es
Ch
J
and
M
Mr
a rth
n
R ob i
s on
a
Fran k
From the a b ove diagram answer the following
questions
Wha t
is
Frank s surname P
’
Wha t relation i s Elizab t h
to
J ohn
Wha t rela t ion is Elizabe t h
to
Frank
e
Wha t relation is Elizabe t h
J ones
to
How many aun t s has Frank
P
How many uncles has Fred
1
Wh o
a re
Frank s grandparen t s
’
old
1
N O RTHUMB E R LAN D M E N T AL
TE S T S
87
TES T B 5
AR T I
P
your mind (wit h ut w it i g t h m d ow ) you have t o arrange
the five words in each line below in the proper order and then
underline t h middle word of t his order
paragraph
book
chap t er
sen t ence
word
house
s t ree t
room
town
coun t y
orange
red curran t
grape
plum
melon
general
sergeant
cap t ain
priva t e
corporal
In
o
r
n
e
n
e
-
PART
I the remaining line two such sets of five words are mixed
up t ogether You have to separate them mentally arrange them
in order and underli ne the middle word of each D t w i t
jus t underline the proper two words
t h m d ow
leaf l f i t wig sowing reap ng t hrashi ng branch ploughing
t ree baking
TE T B 6
I each foreign sen t ence underline the word which corresponds
t o the underlined word in the English sentence
Underline your words plainly You have ot t write anything
only to underline the proper words
I t i changeable weather
Ma sam b d lt hai
I t is good weather
A h h h khub mansam h i
I t is only t
o clock
Si f das baje hai
Measure t yards
D gaz napo
Where shall we go
Ham kahan jaen
Ham C hha baje khama kh w g We shall dine at six o clock
Where does t his road lead t o
Yih rah kahan ati hai
2
n
,
.
,
n,
e
,
o no
.
r
e
.
ea ve n ,
,
i
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
S
n
.
o
n
.
,
.
a
n
c
c
a
s
a
.
a
a
.
’
en
r
.
en
as
a
Look
en
.
’
e
over t he tests a ga in , un t il t ime
.
is
p
u
.
TES TS
G R O UP
88
O F INTELLIGENCE
The particular instructions are :
Correct answers w ol plough 2 point s No point if
T t AI
t wo words in a li ne are underlined or if the words are writ t en down
or if all t h ot her words are crosse d out and the proper one left
Un derlining or ringing t h word is accep t ed as crossing out
The p i ipl
Al t era t ions are all owed if t hey are perfectly clear
pply mut a t is mu t andis i th oth t t
Correc t answers 2 1 1 4 1 3 I 4 point s The poin t
T t A2
i s awarded also if t h series is fu ther cont inued correc t ly
Correct answers H wtho (or Timothy Hawthorn
T t A3
or Mr Hawt h orn b ut ot Thomas Hawt horn) Ad m (or Eliza
bet h Adams) y m (or J ames Adams b ut t J ames Mortimer
or Mr Adams or B Mort imer) 3 point s S pelling mis t akes
are ignored if t h meaning can be grasped
T t A4
Correct answers h p thi ty 2 point s
Te t A 5
Correc t answers 1 8 4 6 4 4 poin t s (4 i t h
only number ot in double fi gures)
T t A6
The language is a Simplified Hindus t ani Correc t
answers h h i bilkull t iy b hut h hhi yih 7 points
No point s are de duc t ed if words i n t h English are unnecessarily
underlined (such candida t es seldom score more t han a chance
point in t h seven) Marks are neit her given nor deduct ed for the
explana t ory sent ences (kuchh
T t PI
R evenge C ircul ar knif e bread bran grass
6 poin t s
2
2
2
I
t
6
poin
s
poin
t
for
ins
t
ead
of
I
1
N
}
7 9
}
7 9 5
26 22 11 6 2
t
poin
s
5
7
J ones
niece ( ot uncle)
C ousin (or cousins ot half cousin)
granddaught er (or grandchild ot gran dfa t her)
thre
t hree
M an d Mrs J ones and Mr and Mrs Robinson 8
po int s i 2 for t h grandparen t s of Frank t hus
one grandparent only
no point
any 2 or 3 grandparen t
I
t
grandparen
s
2
4
too many grandparen t s
no
two grandparen t s
es
o
.
.
,
,
,
,
e
.
e
.
se
.
e
n
a
es
,
,
.
.
rn
,
n
,
o
no
,
s
.
.
s ee
r
,
,
n
es
,
.
.
.
e
.
s
a
es
,
es
.
.
,
a
.
.
.
2,
,
s
.
e
.
.
c a e,
es
.
r
e
es
es s
er
r nc
.
a
,
a r,
a
,
a
,
ac c
,
.
.
e
e
.
,
es
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
:
.
O
.
.
.
.
n
,
-
n
,
n
e
r
.
,
.
e
.
,
e
,
.
s
3,
.
CHAPTE R XI I
A P I C TURE T ST
E
a test f or children a b out 6 y ears of age I have
made a series of drawings which have b een printed
on both sides of a sheet of paper They are repro
d uc ed below
In giving the tests t o a class eac h
c h ild is provided with a lead pencil and on e of the
picture sheets Either the child or the teacher
should fill in the blanks for name age et c
Then
the Class is instructed a s follows ( the directions t o
the teacher are put in brackets)
Loo k at the first picture It is a kind of fork
Draw it a s exactly a s you c a n in the empty place by
Indicate
b
y
holding
up
o
n
of
the
sheets
e
it s side
[
and pointing
If all have understood what y ou
mean and have drawn the f ork in the right place
proceed a s follows
—
Now loo k at the picture b elow it the pictur e
D raw it a s exactl y a s y ou c a n
of a man s head
Then d o the sa me with all the other drawings
right down th e page [ Point to th e pictures and
empt y spaces There is no time limit for these
tests D on t hurry the pupils ; don t urge them to
go slowly L et them g o their own pace ; unless
of course t h ey are wasting time !
N ow look at the pictures on the other half of the
p a ge Some of th ese pairs of dra wings and figures
As
.
.
.
,
,
.
.
.
.
.
,
’
.
.
.
.
’
’
.
.
.
.
90
I CT U
S chool
Name
RE
ES T
S ex
9
2
G R O UP TE STS OF INTE LLIGEN C E
and words are exactly the same and some are a little
—
different are nearly the same but not quite When
the t wo drawing s are quite the same oin them with
a lin e ; when they are di ff erent in an y way put a
cross b et ween them t o S how that they are wrong
Illustrate
what
is
meant
b
y
making
drawings
of
your
[
own on the black board
When you think the
pupils understand sa y
Now d o it [ Wh en they
have finished sa y
Now turn your papers and look at t h e other side
with a man s head a s t h e first picture In each of
those pictures on t h e top line there is something
missing Put it in [ Draw some illus t rations of
your own on the blackboard such a s a man without
a nos e or a kettle without a spout and S how clearly
what the chi ldren have t o do !
Now loo k at the n ext row In each of these
f our pictures there is something too much something
that ought not to b e there b ecause it spoils t h e
pattern Put a cross on the part that is wrong
B egin at the second if you lik e b ecause it is the
easiest [ Ill ustrate as b efore on the black b oar d !
Y
o
u
must
b
e
careful
with
the
next
te
s
t
In
[
the previous tests you may rep eat your instruction s
until you ar e sur e the Chi ldren know what they are
required t o d o H ere the instructions mus t b e
given twice only a n d th ere mus t b e no b lack board
illustration s !
I am going to t ell y ou t o d o something to t h e
thi rd row of pictures You mus t listen very care
f ully for I am going t o sa y i t twice only
Then you
must d o what I have said Now listen : D raw a
little lin e under each of the vegeta b les and put a
cross on each of th e fr ui t D raw a little line under
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G R O UP
94
TES T S OF
INTELLIGENCE
eac h of t h e vegeta b les and put a cr oss on each of the
fruit [ Pause till it is done !
Now listen again I will tell you twice wh at to
do
D raw a line from the b eak of the b ird to the
t urnip passing above the pear and b elow the pea
pod [ Repeat Pause ! N ow listen again I will
t ell you tw ice what t o d o Draw a line f rom t h e
pear to the carrot passing b elow the bird and a b ove
the apple [ Repeat Pause !
Look at the n ext row Here are t wo men c om
ing to meet each other Put a stick in the right hand
of each [ Pause ! The n ext picture shows you a
lady reading a boo k Th ere are t wo pages open
Put a cross on the page sh e reads first [ Pause !
The n ext is a picture of a clock with n o hands
Put in the hands showing half past three [ Pause !
Loo k at the picture of the b ook Put a little
cross above the last page of the b oo k [ Pause !
In the n ext row there are ra bb its and cats I
w ant you t o mak e the number of rab b its the same
If there are t oo m a n y cats
a s the numb er of cats
cross out the extra cats ; if there are t oo many
ra b bits cross out the extra rabbits Cross out with
a thick S troke [ Pause !
Look at the picture of the little girl loo king into
the lookin g glass If y ou c a n see anything wrong
cross it out and draw it a s it ought t o b e [ Paus e f or
some tim e !
The n ex t picture s h ows you a k ey swinging on a
nail Draw it a s it will look when it swings round
so a s t o come on the dott ed line
Pause
[
!
Here are some men ro wing in a b oat Put a
cross at the f ront of the b oat t o S h ow which way
t h e b oat is going
Pause
[
!
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TE S T
PICTURE
A
95
“
Above the boat is a snail with a shell on it s
back If you see anything wrong cross it out and
draw it as it ought to b e
o
c
u
Show
on
the
blac
k
board
a
line
into
o
t
w
h
t
[
t wo parts by putting a little stro k e in the middle
Then sa y J
Look at the line in the n ext row Cut it into
three parts a ll the same siz e [ Pause !
Look at the first square Divide it into four
parts all the same size and the same shap e [ Pause !
Now do the same to the other square but do it
in a different way [ Pause !
Now divide the circle into four parts all the
same size and the same shap e [ Paus e !
D ivide the last C ircle into three parts all the same
”
size and the same shap e
Wor
k
this
su
b
traction
the
b
oard
with
the
s
u
m
o
n
[
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,
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5
2
C
and tell them t h at t h ey will b e given three
lass :
3
minutes t o work the 1 2 su b traction sums in the last
row S top them a s soon a s the three minutes have
expired !
D I R E C T I O NS F O R M A RK I N G
The copied pictures are to b e marked right if there
is clear evidence that t h e C hild h a s observed
accurately and has not ed the number and relation of
the parts In the first drawing if he h a s five prongs
t o t h e for k he has passed the test In the second
there must b e exactly seven hairs on the head and
B ad drawing does
n o feature must b e omitted
.
,
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6
9
GROUP TE ST S
OF
INTELLIGENCE
not matter so long a s the various items are there in
their right place and their right number Very
young chi ldren tend t o multiply the items They
will give a dozen prongs t o t h e fork and abundant
hair t o the man In these drawings on e mark is t o
b e given for each of the first S ix t wo marks for the
s eventh and three f or the eigh t h
The score f or the n ext tw enty items is t h e num b er
right minus the numb er wrong For instance if 1 6
are attempted ( enough time should b e given for all
t o b e attempted) and 9 are righ t
the score is
.
.
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,
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,
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,
,
9
7
2
the next page t h e missing parts in the first
row are the ear the C himney the fins (one fin suffices)
Each scores on e mark
a n d th e handle b ehind
In the next row the first pattern carries t wo marks
and the rest on e eac h
Eight marks are given for the n ext row one for
each of the vegetables correctly indicated one for
each of the f ruit correctly indicated and one for each
of the other two orders correctly carried ou t
Two marks are given if the stick is placed in the
right hand of each man ; if of one only n o marks are
allowed The score is t wo or nothing The next
open
book
carries
n
e
mark
the
n
ext
C
lock
o
(
(
)
)
carries three and the n ext (Closed book) carries on e
T wo marks are allowed if four rabbits are crossed
out in the next row
The mirror t est is diffi c ul t If the refl ected arm
with the b all is crossed out and drawn on th e other
side of the b ody four mark s are scored The k ey
carries three marks t h e b oat on e and the snail f our
The snail s head S h ould b e the other side ; or the
shell turned round
On
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C HAPTER XII I
T HE
T HE
C
O LUM B I A N ME N TAL
T E STS
set of
tests that follows is an attempt on my
part t o construct on American principles (hence
its n ame) a group test that should b e applicable t o
—
English C hildren It is a survival the final product
of many t rials and man y Changes B ehi nd it li e
discarded tests and rej ected methods I first ex p eri
men t ed wit h a set of time tests but j udging from
the results it seemed a s though they a ll tested the
same sort of thing Each echoed the verdict of the
ers
The time element w as t oo prominent
opportunity f or refl ection t oo scanty I weeded
extended the time limit
out some of the tests
in others removed it altogether from the B est
Answer test and added another untimed test of
my own which I la b elled Common S ense Six
tests remain ed f our with time limits and t wo
without
Although the forms of five out of the six tests are
old the contents of all are new in the sens e that
I made up the various items without referring
to or consciously recalling t ests already published
I cannot of cours e b elieve that none of the analogies
for instance have ever b een used before and I kn ow
that most of the num b er series must have b een used
b y man y ot h er examiners b ut speaking gen erally
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,
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98
,
COLUMB IAN MENTAL TESTS
99
the items are new and the compilation is a n ew
compilation
This group test in S pit e of the name I have given
it di ff ers from the American group tests in two
important respects it does not lay so much stress
on the time factor and it includes a larger num b er
of tests that involve distinct elements of reasoning
The five mi nutes allowed for each of the first
four tests is about double what the Americans would
all ow In fact the examiner will find that some of
t h e children will complete the tests before the five
minutes have expired B ut where this is most lik ely
t o happen ( as in the analogies test and the numb er
series t est) the increasing d ifli c ult y of the items will
of its elf amply distribut e the Children without the
aid of a brief time limit Indeed the important
di fferentiating factor is d iffi c ul t y and not speed ;
yet sp eed is not left entirely out of account for the
first t wo tests are intended t o gauge the child s
capacity t o t hi nk n ot only accurately b ut rapidl y
as well
The main idea wa s t o s ecure a b al anced series
a series that would bring into play the various aspects
of intelligence that b ear upon school studies and t o
give the slow t enacious thinker the same chance a s
the quic k and volatile
Any child wh o can read and write with fair facility
is able to take the Columbian Tests They are spec
ia lly suitable for ordinary children b etween the ages of
1 0 and 1
If
the
childr
e n are older than t hi s or in
4
deed ii they are younger and are of high intelligence
they c a n b e more fi t t in gly examined by the Chels ea
Tests which will b e descri b ed in the next chapter
The Colum b ian Tests are set f ort h in a printed or
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1 00
G R O UP TE STS O F INTELLIGENCE
cyclostyled booklet so arranged that only one of the
first four tests is exposed at a time Thi s is essential
in a series of time tests
E ach child is supplied with a lead pencil and a piece
—
of paper about quarto S ize
a piece with at l east
twenty lines Thi s is hi s answer paper He is
a sked t o rule it as in the key given b elow to fill in
details of name and age to place in the top row the
numbers of the tests from I to 6 and in the first
column the numb ers of the items from I t o 2 0
Then he is ready to begin
The test books are then distributed with the
w arning that t h ey a re not to b e opened until the order
is given
Then the examiner says :
When you
open your books (or papers) you will find Test 1 on
the first leaf It is called Ob eying Orders because
it asks you to do 1 6 t hi ngs AS you ar e allowed only
five minut e s t o d o the whole 1 6 you will have t o d o
them quickly They have t o b e don e in the column
headed Test 1 the first on the first line the second
on the second lin e and so on If you are ask ed
t o draw something such as a square or a C ircle
draw it very rapidly like thi s [ the examiner illus
trates on t h e blackboard! bearing in mind that
marks will not b e given for neatness but only for
accuracy and smartness Now turn over the first
page and b egin
o
f
At
the
end
five
minutes
the
examiner
sa
y
s
[
Pencils do wn Look at me The next test c on
sists of 1 6 s entenc es with the w ords all mixed up
lik e t hi s
,
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G row tr ees on apples
this on t h e b lackb oard !
.
.
T
h
e
xaminer
w
ri
t
e
e
s
[
102
GROUP TE STS OF INTELLIGENCE
Test 3 and begin Y ou must stop at the end of
five minutes
minutes
allowed
[5
!
Pencils down Look at these numb ers that I
have written on the blackboard
.
.
.
.
I
3
2
6
5
4
What would the next t wo numb ers b e i
Now find the nex t t wo numb ers for each
6
8
Io
12
9
8
7
6
5
I
4
1
5
1
4
6
2
4
and 8
these
7
of
.
If
the
children
clearl
y
what
required
they
are
se
e
i
s
[
told to start Test 4 Five minutes allowed !
Pencils down S ee what I have written on the
b lack b oard
A policeman wears uniform so a s
A T o b e warmly clad
B To b e easily recognised
C To look s mart
D To frighten thieves
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Which is the b est reason why a policeman wears
uniform
The one marked B Therefore B
should b e written down on your answer paper
Now find the b est reason here :
.
.
People wear ru b ber soles on their b o o ts b ecause :
E They are fashiona b le
F They m a k e n o nois e
G They mak e the soles last longer
H Rubb er is more porous than leat h er
.
.
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C O LUMB IAN MENTAL TESTS
1 03
The reason marked G is the b est therefore your
answer should b e G Now answer in the same wa y
the sixteen questions in Test 5 Y ou will b e given as
much time as you lik e so think carefully When
you have finished you can work the sixth and last
”
t est
The papers should b e marked in accordance with
the given key Each correct answer scores 1 m a king
a total score of 1 00
I have given the Columbian Tests t o about
children but without further verification I hesitate
to give the age norms They seem however t o b e
something like this
,
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,
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Age
Norms
,
10
11
12
2
3
2
4
o
s
,
13
14
55
8
5
GR
O
UP
TESTS
O
F
INTELLIG
E
NCE
4
10
THE C O LUMB IAN MENTAL TE STS
TES
.
T I—O B EYI NG O RDERS
Five
P rint t h fi rs t let t er of
Minutes
alphabe t
2
Make a cross and p ut a ring round it
t
t
t
t
D
raw
a
square
and
prin
t
h
le
er
S
in
i
3
t
t
h
t
t
P
lace
hree
crosses
in
a
row
J
oin
fi
rs
w
i
las
by
t
h
t
h
4
a li ne which passes above t h middle one
t
t
i
t
Make
a
circle
I
u
a
W
ou
t
si
d
e
on
t
h
righ
t
u
a
T
;
5
p
p
and on the left of the circle put a C
I f 8 i less t han 3 cross
6 Wri t e t h capi t als X Y Z in a row
ot draw a line under X
out Z ; if
f
a
square
i
rounder
than
a
circle
draw
a
circle
i
n
a
squar
I
7
if not draw a square in a circle
las t le t t er of t h wor d i n t h is ext raor dinary
8 Wri t e t h
sent ence tha t has more t han twelve le t t ers
t
h
t
raw
Side
by
side
a
riangle
a
circle
and
a
square
I
D
9
circle put no t hing and in t h
t r i angle p ut the le t ter T in t h
square put any number t ha t i s t h wrong answer t o t h question
t wice four 1
number of let t ers in t h fourth word in t hi
1 0 Wri t e down t h
sentence u l ess a cow i s bigger t han a t in which case wri t e the
”
word R t
yes
1 1 I f a dog has t wo noses and one eye wri t e t h word
”
if he has t wo eyes and one nose w it e the word no
1 2 Wri t e t h number that comes before t h number t ha t come
before fourt een
1 3 D raw a square and a circle so t h a t hal f t h circle falls within
square I n the part of t h circle t ha t is outside t h square
th
writ e t h number of fee t in a yard
”
word D ublin b ut
1 4 I f Liverpool is in S co t land wri t e t h
”
S co t land
if it is in England wri t e the word
1 5 D raw a triangle u l ess t here are more day i n t h week t han
t here are weeks in a mon t h in which case draw a c i rcle
1 6 I f t his sen t ence con t ains more wor d s of less t han t h r ee
le t t ers t han wor d of more th an t h ee le t t ers w it e t h fi rs t le t t er
of t h las t word ; if it con t a ins less w it e t h las t le t t er of t h
fi rst word
1
e
.
th e
.
.
.
.
e
.
.
.
e
.
.
e
e
.
n
e
,
.
e
.
n
s
.
,
.
,
s
.
e
,
.
,
e
.
e
.
e
,
e
e
a
:
s
e
n
ca
e
e
,
e
.
n
.
,
,
.
,
.
.
e
,
,
r
.
e
.
s
e
.
e
.
e
e
.
e
e
.
e
.
,
.
n
.
s
e
.
,
.
s
e
r
,
,
.
r
r
e
e
e
1 06
GR O UP TE STS O F INTELLIGENCE
TES T
I II
—ANAL O G IES
F ive
Find
t he
fourth word
i to knee
Minutes
:
i to
arm
l
O
hand
wrist
sleeve
b
w
)
(
Father i to son
mother i t
2
daughter
aunt
brother
)
(sister
Far
o
o
t
near
up
t
3
above
below
under
down
)
(
S
now
i
t
t
whi
e
ink
i
t
o
t
t
black
pen
le
er
writing
)
(
S
econd
i
t
o
o
t
rd
t
hi
i
w
t
m
four
h
last
next
three
t
)
(
h
Dog
i t o puppy
cat
i to
t
tail
pussy
kit
en
purr
)
(
O
range
o
i
o
peel
nut
t
i
t
\
h
pulp
kernel
s
ell
rind
)
(
8 Fire
i to smoke
wa t er
i to
t
liquid
t
ice
eam
w
)
(
S
heep
o
o
i
t
flock
bees
t
i
9
t
honey
sw
rm
ive
ing
a
h
)
(
1 0 D onkey i t o bray
horse
i to
gallop
car
neigh
reins
t
)
(
1 1 Lamb
i t o gen t leness
lion
i to
t
t
roar
prey
s
rength
feroc
i
y
)
(
Wax
1
i to can dle
il
i to
can
lamp
mo
t
or
car
fli
)
(
p
1 3 S inging i t o Speaking
poe t ry i to
t
music
prose
recita
ion
drama
)
(
1 4 Man
C hild
i t o ma l y
i t
h
i
womanis
childish
girl
sh
(
namby p mb y)
1 5 Manners i t o moral
poli teness i to
t
politics
socie
y
k
i
ndness
vir
e
t
u
(
)
1 6 House
capit al i to
i to ren t
t
labour
interes
coun
y
money
t
(
)
1
.
Leg
s
s
as
,
.
s
is
,
,
s
o
s
as
o
,
,
s
as
,
,
s
c
s
,
,
s
as
s
s
as
e
,
.
s
,
,
,
.
,
s
as
,
1
,
,
s
as
s
.
,
,
as
s
s
s
s
,
,
,
2
,
,
,
.
S
s
as
,
.
,
,
,
s
,
is
as
,
F
,
o
s
as
'
.
e
,
as O
s
-
,
.
s
as
s
n
,
,
as
s
o
,
,
-
.
s
s
as
s
,
a
s
,
.
n
s
,
.
a ra
,
,
as
,
,
s
,
,
r
,
COLUMB IAN MENTAL TESTS
TE ST
—
IV NUMBER
SERIES
F iv e Minutes
Give the next t wo num b ers in each
( )
2
( )
( 3)
(4)
( s)
6
( )
(7)
8
( )
( 9)
I
o
( )
I
I
( )
I
2
( )
I
( 3)
I
( 4)
I
( s)
I
6
( )
1
11
12
I
I
U
O
9
;
4
O
O
I
N
H
¢
Q
U
N
O
0
Q
1
U
H
P
-
N
H
O
O
O
HO
N
H
H
4
1
'
N
w
ro
1 07
GR O UP TE STS O F INTELLIGENCE
108
TES T V —B ES T REA S O N
le t t er t ha t s t ands before t h bes t reason or t h
Wri t e down t h
bes t answer
1 Wh en a li t tle girl loses her doll she Should
A C ry t ill somebody finds it for her
B Think where she is likely t o have left it an d look t here
C S earch in her fa t her s pocke t s
D Ask her mo t her t o buy her a new one
I f you are caugh t in a shower f ar from home and have no
2
umbrella you should
E Take shelter till the shower passes
F Ru all the way home
G Ask a policeman to lend you an umbrella
H Borrow money t o buy a mackintosh
Boys
should
o
t
smoke
because
3
K I t Should be left for men t o do
t healthy
L I t is
M Tobacco i expensive
N V ery few Children ever smoke
h
t
t
t
More
birds
d
i
e
in
w
i
n
er
han
in
any
o
her
season
because
t
4
0 They lose t hei fea t hers
P They can t get enough wa t er
Q They can t g t enough food
R Boys t hrow stones at t hem
C
hildren
like
riding
in
roundabou
t
s
because
5
S I t makes them giddy
T I t is cheap
U They like to be admired
V The movemen t is pleasan t and exci t i ng
because
6 C hil d ren read comics
W They con t ain pic t ures
X They are cheap
Y They make them laugh
Z They are good for their morals
e
e
.
.
.
.
.
.
’
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
n
.
.
.
.
.
n
.
.
.
.
no
.
s
.
.
.
.
e
.
r
.
.
’
.
.
’
e
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
e
GROUP TE STS O F INTELLIGENCE
1 10
I4
.
Poking the fire brigh ens it because
t
irrit a t es t h fire
F lets in more air
ron is a good conduc t or of hea t
H The poker gets hot
1 5 We
t t urkey on C hris t mas day because
K I t goes well wi t h plum pudding
L Turkeys are expensive
M I t has become the custom
N Turkeys are intended to be ea t en at Chr istmas
1 6 The sea is salt because
0 There are sal t rocks t t h bot t om
P S alt fish swim abou t i it
Q People p ut sal t there many years ago
R Rivers cons t an t ly carry a small amoun t of sal t in t o it
E It
It
G I
e
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
ea
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
e
a
n
.
.
.
.
COLUMB IAN MENT AL TESTS
I I I
—
T V I CO MMO N S EN S E
J ohn h a i t er J ne a bro ther D ick d a cou in Tom
An wer the followi ng i que tion bou t t he e people
I Who i D ick i t er
Who i J ne cou in I
W
ho
Tom
fem
le
cou
in
P
i
3
Who i D ick bro ther P
How
m
ny
bro
t
her
h
J
ne
f
5
6 How m ny cou in h Tom P
Five boy Tom D ick J oe Bill d S m t in row D ick
t t he o t her
Bill t nex t t o
t
t one end of t he row a nd J oe
D ick d Tom t nex t t o J oe Now n wer the followi g five
que tion bou t them
t
How
m
a
ny
b
y
be t ween D ick d J oe
o
7
8 Who
t in the very middle
W
ho
t
be
t
ween
Bill
a
nd
Tom
9
t be tween S m
1 0 Who
d D ick
I I How m a ny boy t be tween Bill a nd J oe
Now a n wer the re t of the que tion
a nd Ma rg re t i bigger th n
1 2 M ry i bigger t h a n M bel
M ry Wh o i the m lle t of t h t hree
13
S r h i
old now Anne w two ye r a go Whi ch is
the older 3
I 4 How m ny gre t gr a n dmo ther h ve you never m i n d their
(
being de d) P
15
Fred i ta ll Willi m would be if Willi m were twi ce
t ll he re lly i Which i the t ller Fred or Willi m 3
1 6 I f all blo t er
herring
ll herring blo t er
d Philip t
pple be tween them Henry at e
1 7 Henry
i
t wice m a ny Phi lip How m ny did Phi lip t 3
1 8 Five ye r
h
lli
t
wo
ye
r
older
t
h
n
u
d
How
P
w
M
y
g
m ny ye r older t h n M ud i h now i
1 9 A cycli t rode a mile on
old—
f hi oned bicycle which h d
big wheel in fron t a nd li ttle wheel behind Which wheel wen t
round the l rger number of time —the big or the little
R e d t he l t que t ion ga in Which of the t wo wheels
t r a velle d the f t er
TES
as
s s
a
s
s
.
2
s
.
’
a
’
s
.
a
.
a
s
s
s
s
a
s
s
s
s,
as
s
a
as
,
,
,
,
an
a
,
sa
a
a
sa
an
s
.
sa
a
s
n
:
s sa
.
.
sa
.
sa
an
sa
an
a
s sa
.
s
s
a
s
.
.
s
s
a
.
a
a
.
.
s a
.
.
s
s a
s
s
s s s
’
s
.
sa
,
s x
’
an
,
s
s as
a a
a
a
e
as
a
.
s
a
,
s
a
s
as
-
s
a s
.
a
a
o
as
a
as
s as
.
s
a
a
as
a s a
a
o
s
a
a
s
as
s s
.
a s
as
as
s
a
a
a
.
e
as
s
a
.
a
.
a
s
a
ea
a
20
s
s
an
a
a
a
.
a s
.
e s x
as
,
s, a re a
a
as
.
a
s a re
an
.
a
s
.
.
a
a
.
1 12
G ROUP TE S T S OF INTELLIGENCE
TH E
COL
UMB I AN
MENTAL
TES
TS
KEY
N0
.
Te t i
s
.
T e t ii
s
roun d
bu he
t runk
s
T
.
s
elbow
d ugh t er
down
e t vi
s
J a ne
a
b la ck
three
ki tten
pudding
leepy
he a d
s
team
wa rm
s
s
feroci ty
pro e
childi h
vir tue
i n t ere t
s
penny
s
s
Ma bel
.
11
4
G R OUP TESTS OF INTELLIGENCE
is connected closely With general intelligence and
more closely still with mathematical ability Hence
the inclusion of dextrality questions among bot h the
Chelsea Tests and the Picture Tests
I have reason t o think that this orientation test
does in itself pick out children of extraordinary
ability One day when I h ap pened to b e applying
the test in a boys school the list of j unior count y
scholarship winners arrived The four b oys wh o
came out at the top in the orientat i on test were
among the six who had gained scholarships
In giving the Chelsea Tests the general procedure
should b e the same as that prescrib ed f or the
Columbian Tests
The children should first
prepare an answer paper as represented in the K ey
The only test that requires special care on the part
of the examiner is the cipher test where his aim
should b e to ensure that the ch ildren know precisely
what they are required t o d o without allowing
enough practice for them t o memorise the K ey
Hence the preliminaries are fixed and standardised
Three minutes are allowed f or the study of the
instructions on the front page Then the examiner
‘
explains by means of two examples wh a t ex a c t ly is
required The point t o b e emphasised is that the
pupil is not asked to translate the cipher ( except of
course in his own mind) but t o write in ordinar y
script an answer t o a question Th e t wo black
board examples I use are
w g ; t fg t d y f t w k i
,
.
.
.
’
.
.
.
.
,
.
.
.
.
,
.
-
w
-:
s
c
m,u
l
y
.
rs
:
,
.
.
.
.
.
w:rd
t t rs ,r t - r ; n t
.
Th e answers I need scarcely
”
an d
t h ree
,
.
sa
y
,
c ,t
are
S unday
”
CHELSEA MENTAL TE STS
1 15
After t h e expiration of the 1 0 minutes allowed for
t h e cipher test the pupils are asked t o fill up the
blanks in t h at particular answer column with bold
dashes to ensure that they are n ot filled in later Then
the pupils are told to work t h e rest of the tests
entirely by themselves keeping steadily on till they
get to the end N 0 time limit is imposed
The marking of the first three tests is a simple
matter On e mark is allowed for eac h correct
answer and n o fractional marks are given In the
fourth test the first three questions carry on e mark
each For each of the other questions the score is
r
T
h
e
numb
er
down
ight
minus
the
numb
er
down
(
wrong) multiplied by t wo
Th us in Q uestion 4
if MV H is given the score is
o
2
6
(3
)
if MV is given the score is
2
o
2
(
)
4
if MV HN is given the score is
1
2
(3
)
4
if MHNS is given the score is
2
2) 2
o
(
if MNS is given the score is
I
2
o
2
(
)
a s n o negative marks are recorded
.
,
.
.
.
.
,
.
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
Th e possible marks therefore for this question ar e
6 4 2 and o The reason for this plan of markin g
”
is obvious
Th e right minus wrong principle
counteracts the eff ect of guessing The score is
doubled b ecause there are six j udgments actually
made and t h e f ormula ensures that credit is given
for each correct j udgment
Q uestion 5 is marked on the same principle Th e
full score is 4 and the pupil may obtain 4 marks 2
marks or none
Q uestions 6 and 7 are marked in t h e same way
a s Q uestion 4
,
,
.
,
.
.
,
.
.
,
,
.
,
.
4
1 16
G R OUP TE STS O F INTELLIGENCE
The total marks for the t hi rd test are 2 5 as for
each of the other t ests maki ng an aggregate of 1 00
I cannot with much confidence give age norms f or
t h e Chelsea Tests for I have not yet applied t h em to
a suffi cient number of children They are more
di fficult than the Columbian Tests for while th e
average score in the Columbian Tests is roughl y
about four times the chr onological age t h e score
in the Chelsea Tests is only about three times t h e
c hronological age I sub mit the following a s
t entative norms
,
.
,
,
.
,
,
.
Ag e
11
12
13
Norms
0
3
6
3
1
4
4
45
1
G ROUP TESTS OF INTELLIGENCE
1 18
T ES T
Minute:
Yen
K ey
i
e
a
z
—CIPHER
I
u
o
h
I
An swer
1
.
the e que tion s
C p ;g fl y P
s
s
,
—ll
s
n
W t
W- t
P
s
t
w
B
:
,
;
3
- s
-:w m u
d
z P
s
l
,
,
g
y g
4
- t c zln t r
r
n
s
P
s
P
w
,
;
;
,
5 ;
y
u
P
6 W-, t s-, p ; s
- t
f
ll
s
s
n
P
:
W
,
;
;
,
;
g
7
t
t
n
d
m
k
r
t
w
8 W ,
:
:
P
,
,
P
: d lc ks w ,r
9
1 0 W- , t , r b , b y c , t s ,11
P
e , ; r,l :f n l, n d
1 1 N, m t
g
p
s
1
d
r
l
12
:
,
;g t P
;
s
f
t
1 3 N, m t
:
d ,y
;
,
1 4 W- , t s , s:n c :m s b f :r , ! t ! mn P
1 5 ; n w-, t c zln t ry
: t
D lt c ; P
sm,ll r
1 6 W-; c ; s t
c rzw P
:r
,
l
1 7 Wr; t d zwn t
t - ; rd l t t r :f t
b t
, p ,
1 8 W- , t ; s t
n ,m :f :! r
r s nt
P
;
p
1 9 W-; c ; s t
l,rg r c zw :r , n l p - , n t P
- nt s
2 0 - :w m, n
c ; , rs
d
s
n
d
:
l
m
k
z
,y
,
,
y g
p
2 1 W-, t d , y :f t
w k c :m s , f t r M:n d ,y P
2
.
.
c z zr
,
d w
s
;
.
.
g
r, ss
. .
.
.
p ny
md
.
.
.
.
.
.
d
D
.
. .
.
.
c d
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
fr tm l
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
d
.
.
cml
.
.
.
.
23
r, ; n
2
. .
W
W
-
.
W
-
.
.
m, n
n
- t
,
P
4
.
n
d: s
t
.
- s
,
n
.
.
:n -; s
:
t
.
.
m,n ; n
:f
t
.
.
.
.
.
k ng
.
.
.
22
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
lv
tr t
t
s
t
w,
.
d : s ; t s t , ;l p :; n t P
2 5 ;f
m,n St , rt s d ; gg ;ng
- s w:rk d f zr i v
P
,
;
.
..
r k
eze
P
—
w t d w
,
t lp
l
p
p
:; n t s
:
t
:
.
s,
y
r:t c t
p
;s
; m f rzm t
-
.
Nzrt
;n
w- , t
.
.
.
.
t
n
n
::
,
w
- t
,
t ;m
.
P
w;ll ; t
b
.
w- n
.
CHELSEA MENTAL TE STS
: 19
—MEANI N G S OF WO RD S
en tence World foo tb a ll m rble melon a re
TES T
II
Look t thi
ll
l
olid
e
ta
ble
round
m
a
ll
T
here
i
one
a
nd
o
y
one
of
t
he
)
(
word
in
br
a
cke
t
t
h
t
would
m
ke
t
he
en
t
ence
t
rue
Th
at
4
”
wor d i round Now w t h fir t 8 que tion by writing
down for e ch one the word th at m ke the en t ence t rue
a ccha rine t rea cle a re ll (liquid wee t sti cky
1 Honey j m
m a nuf c tured)
D i mond pl tinum r adium pe a rl
all (r re j ewel
2
tr a n p ren t roun d)
l
reyhound
a
eropl
ne
bulle
t
mo
t
or
c
a
r
a
re
l
me
ta
llic
G
3
(
elf a c ting wift munition )
ll
r
wood
pple
c
a
c
t
u
green
e
t
ble
medicin
l
G
(
4
vege t ble)
ll
An
t
gr
in
poin
t
mi
t
e
h
r
d
pr
i
ckly
elong
at
ed
5
(
minu t e)
dy a mit e b omb a re a ll (chemic a l
6 G unpowd er knive
da ngerou explo ive cu tlery)
D
e
er
t
fl
rubber
ole
fi
he
a
re
a
ll
a
nim
l
t
hir
t
y
i
g
7
(
ilen t po tt ed)
8 Bir thd y p in error de th a re ll ( di gree ble inevi t ble
in t erch nge ble unconquer ble)
E ch of the following 6 que t ion i a n wered by one of the 6
phr e (A B C D E F) given below An wer e ch q ue tion by
pu tt ing on your a n wer p per the le tter th at t n d before t h
fi tt ing phr e (No word a re require d )
Ca
mel
me
n
P
9
1 0 Punc tu a li t y me n P
11
Neck me n P
1 2 P t ience me n P
1 3 O ppor tuni ty me a n P
1 4 C ri i me n P
A
D
oing
t
hing
at
t
he
ex
a
c
t
ti
me
)
(
B
A
convenien
t
t
ime
( )
( C) An nim al wi th a hump u ed a b e a t of burden
D
A
t
ime
for
deciding
t
hing
deci
ive
momen
t
( )
T
he
p
r
t
of
t
he
b
dy
t
h
at
join
t
he
he
d
t
o
t
he
t
runk
E
o
( )
F
W
i
t
ing
or
wi
t
hou
t
grumbling
fl
i
)
(
g
s s
a
s
a
,
:
,
,
s
s
s
.
er
ans
,
a
,
s
.
a
,
,
s
,
,
.
a
.
a
,
s a
,
,
s
a
,
s
,
a ss,
.
a
-
a
,
-
a re
s
,
s,
,
.
,
.
s
s
,
s
s
s
a
.
s
a
a
n
s
e
a
,
,
a
a
.
.
a
,
‘
s
s
,
a
,
a
,
,
.
s a re a
,
,
a a
a
,
,
.
.
a
,
,
a re
,
a
a
,
,
,
.
.
s,
,
s,
s
s
.
s
,
s,
’
-s
es,
a
a
s,
a
a
,
s,
s
s
a
,
a
,
a s,
s
,
a
s
s
as s
,
,
,
,
as
.
a
,
,
s
s
e
.
s
a
.
a
a
s a
s
a
.
s
a
.
.
a
s
s
,
s
sa
.
a
s
s
a
a
s
s
.
.
s,
.
.
.
s
,
.
,
ra
s
n
s s
a
s
s
.
.
a
,
s
as
a
s
sn
er n
.
s
s, a
a
s
.
a
.
.
G ROUP TE STS O F IN TE LLIGENCE
120
Now do the next 7 que t ion in the a me w y Be c a reful s
ome of the word h ve ne a rly t he sa me me a ning
1 5 Au t hori ty me n P
1 6 V ni ty me n P
1 7 Br very me n P
1 8 I n fl uence me n P
1 9 Pride me a n P
2 0 D omin t ion mea n P
2 1 F or ti t u d e me a n P
A high pinion of one own wor th
5 Rule t h at i exerci e d with force or wit h vi olence
Power t h at re t on righ t
d Cour a ge un d er u ff ering
S elf e t eem wi th a love of pr a i e
F
orce
t
h
at
come
w
it
h
ch
a
r
a
c
t
er
or
per
on
a
l
it
y
f
g C our a ge under d nger
Now work t he re t of t he p a per
22
When the moon grow l rger it w ax e when it ge t sm a ller
it
Wh t i the mi ing wor d P
3 When t he t ide come in i t fl ows when it goes ou t it
Wh at i the mi ing word P
2 4 Whi ch of the e wor ds me a n the l a rge t num b er of t hing
hou e hu t town t en t dwelling c ave ci tie P
2 5 Whi ch of t he e word me a n the l rge t number of th ing
c a b b a rrows tr a m vehicle c a rriage omnibu e c a r ts mo tor
car P
s
s
a
a
.
s
s
s
.
s
a
.
s
.
a
s.
s
a
a
.
’
O
.
c.
s s
.
s
-
e
.
s
.
s
s
.
.
.
.
s
s
.
s
.
a
.
s
s
s
s
,
s
s,
s,
,
s
s,
s
.
s,
s
ss
.
s s,
s,
a
ss
.
s
.
.
.
a
.
s
s
2
a
.
s
a
a
a
a
.
.
s
s
s
s,
s
s,
s
s,
s,
s
a
s,
s :
s
s
s :
s s,
,
G R OUP TE STS O F INTELLIGENCE
122
An
ol
d
gen
t
lem
n
compl
ined
t
h
t
he
could
no
longer
w
lk
3
round the p rk he u ed t o he coul d now only go h alf w y round
Fooli h bec u e
d b ck a g a in
K It would be be tt er t o w lk in t o t he coun t ry
L The di t nce a re the a me
M He w ge tt ing la y
N All old people a re infirm
an
a
a
-
s
as
a
a
a
a
.
s
.
s
a
a
.
s a
.
s
.
s
as
.
z
a
.
.
.
.
ll
hi
A
hun
t
er
who
h
a
d
u
ed
up
a
mmuni
t
ion
ch
a
ed
w
4
by be a r A brigh t ide truck him he would climb a t ree
When he go t t o the t op he remembered th t the be r could l o
climb tree ; bu t he go t ou t of h i difficul ty by pulling the tree
up a fter him Fooli h bec a u e
a
a
.
s
a
s
.
s
as
s
:
.
a
a
a s
s
a
s
.
s
The t ree coul d no t be pulle d up by the m if he hi m elf
w on i t
P He w no t trong enough
Q It w no t brigh t ide a to climb tree
R The be r would be t oo quick for him
0
an
.
as
.
as
.
s
as
.
s
.
a
a
a
.
.
.
forge tful m once t ied a kno t in h i h ndkerchief t o
remind hi m of ome thing ; bu t he uddenly remembered th t t he
l t t ime he did thi he coul d no t rec ll wh t he h d to remember
S o t hi t ime he t ied two kno t t o m ke ure The fir t kno t w
t o remind him th t he h d t o remember ome thi ng the econd
t o remin d hi m of wh t th t ome thi ng w
Fooli h b c u e
A
5
an
.
s
s
a
s
s,
as
a
a
s
s
s
a
s
s
as
s
,
as
s
a
a
.
.
a
a
a
a
s
.
e a
s
would poil hi h a ndkerchief
T He houl d t r in hi memory
U Two kno t coul d no t m ke him remember more tha n
one
V He hould h a ve wri tten i t down
S
.
It
s
s
a
s
.
.
s
.
s
.
a
.
s
.
.
Ligh t come from the u ; feather
fe ather come from the u Fooli h bec a u e
6
n
s
s
.
s
s n.
s
ligh t ; therefore
s a re
s
The u would burn the fe ther
X The word ligh t i u ed in two di ff eren t e e
Y Ligh t come from o ther thing be ide the u
Z F e ther come from b i rd
W
s
.
n
s
.
.
s
s ns s .
s
.
a
s
s.
a
s
s.
s
s
s
n
.
CHELSEA MENTAL TESTS
123
A
ai
lor
who
pu
t
t
o
h
ul
in
rope
from
t
he
found
i
t
w
7
o long th at he g ve i t up in d i gu t
ying t hat omebody mu t
h a ve cu t t he end off Fooli h bec a u e
A He houl d h ve h ad more p at ience
B All rope h ve en d
C I f the en d were cu t off there would till b e a n en d
D Rope a re u e d t o keep the ails tigh t
s
.
as
s
sa
,
s
a
s
.
.
s
a
.
.
s
,
s
.
s
s
s
s
.
s
s
a
.
sea
a
a
s
s
.
.
h
a d a n d bi tter world we never trew fl owers on a
m n gr a ve un til he i de d Fooli h b ec au e
E W e do no t pu t m in gr ve b efore he is d e a d
F O nly thing we t t e
bi tter
G D e d men do no t need fl ower
H It i no t the world th at i d bu t the people in i t
8
T is is
.
’
a
sa
s
:
s
s
a
a
.
an
as
s
.
s
.
s
a
a
a re
.
s
a
.
s
.
.
s sa
.
.
,
i
he
moon
more
u
eful
t
h
n
t
he
for
i
t
give
ligh
t
u
u
9
in the nigh t when we re ally need i t while the u give u ligh t in
t he d y when we don t nee d i t Fooli h bec a u e
K When t here i a moon the nigh t i no t da rk
L The moon i no t o brigh t the u
M O n ome nigh t t here i no moon t a ll
N I t i the u th t m ke the d y
T
.
s
s
s
a
n,
s
,
’
a
s
.
s
s n
s
.
as
s
s
.
s
s
a
a
.
n
a
s
a
s
s
s
s
.
n
s
s
s
.
s
.
.
.
A hou eholder w a n a dver ti emen t
Buy one of S imp
tov a nd a ve h lf your co l He bough t two t o a ve ll
ki
of it Fooli h bec a u e
0 He houl d h a ve bough t more t h a n two
P Two t ove would burn more t h a n one
Q A t ove w t e co l
R S i mpkin w trying t o wi n dle the pu b li c
10
’
ns s s
s
es,
s
s
.
as
s
s
so a s
a
.
s
as
s
S ome ye a rs a go
of the week
bec a u e
a
.
.
.
s
,
s
.
11
.
s
.
.
:
”
a
a
s
.
s
sa
s
.
.
i t w propo ed t o hif t S und y t o the middle
t o di vide the week i t o two p r t Fooli h
as
s
s
a
n
s
a
s
.
s
here woul d till b e even day from S unda y t o S un da y
T We c a nno t hift S unda y
U It i wicked t o pu t Sund y where Wedne d y i
V S unda y must come a fter S t urd y
S T
s
.
s
.
.
.
s
s
s
.
s
a
a
a
.
a
s.
.
T ES TS
G R OUP
1 24
You
OF INTELLIGENCE
thin a nd I m thi n ; bu t he i thinner th a n both
of u pu t toge ther Fooli h bec u e
W W e c nno t m ke thi n m thi nner
X It i be tt er t o be t hin th n t ou t
Y O ne m c nno t be t hinner th a n two men
Z I f two men could be pu t t oge ther t o m a ke one m a n
th t m would be f tter no t thi nner
w llowing in the mire he mu tt ere d No
1 3 W at ching p ig
”
won der they a re c lled pig
Fooli h bec u e
A Pig do no t lw y w llow in t he mire
B To c ll nybody a pig i no t polit e
C I f pig w llow t ll i t mu t w allow in mi re
D Pig
no t o n med bec u e they
dir ty
1 4 J ohn J a me
who h a d m rried hi widow i ter u e d t o
s
t
h
t
if
a
h
i
t
er
i
t
hi
mi
for
t
une
bu
t
if
m
d
b
d
w
y
he had a b d wife i t w his fa ul t Fooli h bec au e
E It i no t l wful t o m rry one s widow s si st er
F A good m a n m ay h ave a b ad wife
G A wom n d oe no t become a widow un til her hu b a n d
12
.
a re
s
s
.
s
a
a
a
.
s
a
,
an
a
s
.
s
a
an
.
.
.
a
.
.
,
a
an
a
s
.
a
,
s
a
s
.
a
a
.
s
a
a
s a
a
s
a
a
an
a
.
a
a
’
as
s
,
s
,
s
’
a
.
s s s
s
s
.
a
a re
s
s s
a
.
s
a
as
s
s
,
a
a
.
.
a
s,
.
,
s
a
s
s a re
.
s
.
a
a
.
.
,
’
.
.
.
s
a
.
s
H A b ad wife i wor e th n a b d i t er
”
I don t like on ion
id the b oy a nd I m gl d I don t
15
for if I did I hould be e ting them all d ay a n d I h t e the be tly
”
thing
Fooli h bec a u e
K He c a nno t bo th like t hem a n d h at e t hem t t he s me
time
L No boy like onion
M I f he at e onion ll d y he would be ill
N O nion a re no t be tly
cha rged t the police cour t wi th h ving
1 6 An I ri hm n w
tolen a pig Five wi t ne e wore th t they h d een him do i t ;
bu t the pri oner id th t he could prove hi innocence by bringing
fif ty wi tne e who would we r th t they h d no t een him t e l
the pig Fooli h bec u e
0 A m would no t t e l pig if people were w t ching hi m
P The people who did no t
no t there o wh t
hi m w
they id did no t m att er
Q Wi tne e do no t alway pe k the truth
R Five wit ne se were qui t e enough
s
s
.
’
s,
.
s
.
s s
a
.
’
sa
’
a
,
a
s
s
a
,
a
,
as
s
a
.
a
.
s
.
s
.
s a
.
s
.
s
as
sa
s
-
a
a
a
s
s
a
a
s
s
a
ss s
.
.
ss s s
.
.
.
as
a
s
.
a
a
a
a
s
s
a
s
an
s
a
a
a
.
‘
see
.
sa
.
.
ere
,
.
ss s
s s
s
s
a
.
.
s
a
G R OUP
126
TESTS
O F IN TELLIGENCE
do no t die in M rch I m ll righ t for the re t of the ye r Fooli h
b ec au e
J a nu ry
K M rch i no t o cold
L Nobody know when he i going t o die
M He m y die y t ime
N He migh t h ve id the a me thing of y o ther mon th
of the ye r
A howm n dver ti ed for gi n t d dw rf A m of
2
ordin ry heigh t pre en t ed him elf d offered t o fill bo th p r t
He cl imed t o be the m lle t gi a n t in the world d the bigge t
dw rf Fooli h bec u e
0 He w n t ed t o che t t he howm n
be two thi ng t once
P No m
Q A gi n t mu t be la rger d dw rf m ller th n a n
ordin ry m a n
R The howm n a dver t i ed for two men no t one
very
rule
even
t
hi
one
h
a
n
excep
t
ion
Fooli
h
E
3
bec u e
S Thi i no t a rule
T Some rule h ve no excep tion
U It con tr dic t i t elf
V We c nno t y wh ich i the excep tion
t nding ne r clock tower ju t before the clock
2 4 While
tru k twelve two boy t ried to find ou t which of them could hold
hi bre th t he longer
Nei ther of them won for one w ble t o
hold hi bre th from the fir t troke of t h clock t o the ix th d
the o ther from the ix th t o the twelfth Fooli h bec u e
W The boy could no t hold their bre th o long
X It i unhe l thy t o t op bre thing
Y They ough t t o h ve t r ted toge ther
Z The econd b y won
hi
The
hor
e
obey
m
t
er
bec
u
e
eye
m
gnify
hi
o
5
th t hi m a ter eem t o the hor e t o be much l rger th a n the hor e
him elf Fooli h bec u e
A A m a n eye m gnify t oo
B We c nno t t ell whe ther hor e eye m gn ify
C The hor e obey hi m ter bec u e he re pec t him
D The hor e eye would m gnify everything in the me
proport ion
a
a
s
a
a
”
s
.
s
a
s
a
s
s
s
s
a
s
.
s
s
.
s
an
a
.
.
an
a
s
a
a
a
.
s
s
a
.
s
,
.
,
as
,
s
.
s
a
s
.
s
.
s
.
a
s
s
s a
.
.
sa
a
.
.
s
a
.
s
s
s a
a
2
an
.
a
,
a
a
.
a
an
an can
.
a
s
a
a
.
an
a
s
a
.
an
.
a
a
a
s
sa
a
.
.
a
.
.
s
an
a
.
.
a
s
.
2
as
s
s
a
.
a
.
-
a
s
s
c
s
a
.
s
s
s
a
e
s
s
a
s
.
s
s
o
s
.
s
’
.
.
.
.
a
a
s
s
a
,
s
s
s
s
s
.
s
as
’
a
a
s
s
s
s
s
.
a
s
s
a
a
’
.
s
s
s
s
.
s
a
an
.
as
s
s
.
a
,
.
s
s
s
a
s
s a
a
.
a
s
.
a
s
.
2
s
s
.
as a
,
a
s
.
s
.
sa
CHELSEA MENTAL TE STS
127
T ES T I V—O RI ENTATI O N
K eep your p a per tr igh t in fron t of you
D r w the c pi t l le tter F i t would appe r if it were printe d
1
up ide down
D r w the c pi t l le tter N i t would appe r if it were print ed
up ide down
hi
I
f
boy
t
nd
on
he
d
wi
t
h
f
ce
t
o
t
he
ou
t
h
where
hi
3
will hi righ t h nd poin t P
ome
I
f
t
he
e
le
tt
er
were
een
re
fl
ec
t
ed
in
a
m
i
rror
i
4
would look the me they do here d ome would look differen t
Wri t e down tho e th t would look the me S PMVNH
A
c
rdb
rd
t
ri
ngle
p
in
t
ed
red
on
one
ide
d
green
o
i
o
5
the o ther The dr wing m rked R how wh t
i t look like when i t lie wi th the red ide up
a nd the dr wing m rked G how wh t i t look
like when i t i turned over t h t the green
ide i up Thi c rdbo rd w pl ced on thi
d d
p per in four po it ion n med b
ome time wi th the red ide up d ome
ti me with the green ide up I n which po ition w i t when the
red w up P
a
s
a
.
s
2
.
a
a
as
a
a
a
as
a
.
a
.
s
.
s
s a
a
.
s
s
a
s
a
,
a
s
.
s
an
.
sa
a
s
a
a
.
s
a
s
s
s
s
a
s
s
s
a
s
.
a
a
s
a
s
s
a
as
a
a
,
s
s
,
an
c,
s
s
,
s
an
s
.
,
a
so
a
s
s
a
s
s
s
n
an
a
a
.
s
s
,
as
s
a
s
s
s x
sa
.
s
as
as
hi que tion i like the l t one excep t th at the
c rdbo r d i of diff eren t h pe d I give you dr w
ing of the green ide only The red ide i underne ath
I n which of the po itio m
a
nd
t
he
w
p q
red ide up P
6 T
.
a
a
s
s
s
s
a
s
s
a
ns
,
an
a
s
.
s
s
as
,
n , o,
,
a
s
,
.
r
as
128
G ROUP
T ES T S
OF INTELLIGENCE
N
me
by
le
tt
er
t
he
people
you
dr
wn
here
who
e
ll
7
lef t leg i ne a rer the b eginning of t he li ne (ne a rer the X) th n the
righ t leg
.
a
s a
s
.
see
s
a
a
CHAPTE R XV
T HE
C R I C HT O
N
T ES T
FO R
the more intelligent adolescents and adults
I have devised a test which may b e used to supple
ment the Chelsea Tests It serves to di ff erentiate
still further the higher grades of intelligence I
have called it the Crichton Test as the C hild wh o
could answer all the questions would bid fair to
rival the Admirable Crichton The t yp e of test
was suggested by R ob a c k s Mentality Tests for
Sup erior Adults which end up with a cryptogram
of nine words As the numb er of symbols used is
only eleven and five of them are already translated
it will b e seen to b e easier than the two cryptograms
included in the present series of tests The data I
h ave supplied for their solution consist of certain
principles rather than partial translation
No preliminary instructions are necessary The
papers are distributed and the candidates told to
work them as though they were ordinary examination
papers No mark is to b e made on the question
—
paper but the candidate is allowed nay rec om
—
mended to use the back of his answer paper for his
attempts at deciphering the two cryptograms
The passage in No 6 is from Marcus Aurelius in
No 7 from K enneth Graham s Pa ga n Pa pers in
No 8 from Emerson in No 9 from Oliver Wendell
.
.
,
.
’
,
.
,
,
.
.
.
,
.
,
,
.
.
,
’
.
.
,
.
,
13o
THE C R ICHTON TEST
13 1
Holmes in No 1 0 from Emerson in No 1 1 from
Hilaire B ell oc s Ca lib a n s Guid e to Let ters and No
1 2 from B oswell s
a h usa n
7
The first twenty three questions carry 1 mark
each the twenty fourth carri es 2 t h e twenty fi f t h
t
8
the
twenty
sixth
the
twenty
seven
h
one
3
(
3
for eac h word) and the twenty ninth 1 1 (on e for
each word) The total is 5 0
I have not yet standardized the results of the
Crichton T est but some notion of its diffi culty may
b e gained from the fact that the average score for the
top class of an elementary school ( Standard VII ) is
about 7 and there are never more than one or two wh o
are able to solve the last problem At a large Central
School for boys the 4 2 brightest pupils (about one
ninth of the school) were given the test The aver
age score wa s 2 3 and the highest 4 3 The second
and harder cryptogram was deciphered by 1 7 boys
.
,
.
,
’
’
.
,
’
.
-
-
-
,
,
-
-
,
,
-
,
.
.
,
,
.
,
.
.
,
.
C RIC HTO N TES T
I n e ch of the fir t 5 que t ion you h ve to find four th word
th t goe with the t hird the econd goe wi th the fir t
P A
gl
wi d ow i t o
S mpl
T bl i t o w od
i
t
t
o
Mu i i t o p
P
p
y
W d i t o t hi g m y i t o
P
$ ? P
t
o
t
o
u
b
u
t
t
i
i
T
b
3
p
i
t
o
d
t
o
i
H
u
i
u
i
t
u
m
P
f
4
i
i
t
o
h
t
o
A
P
t
5
p
p
p
T HE
as
s
a
1
.
2
.
s c
or
s
s
.
o se
.
s
.
ec
as
s
n
as
as
o
rn
s
s
s
s
ns
.
.
a ss
.
s
one
s
s
1
re a s
n
a ce a s
a
s
n
oe r
o era a s
s
a
s
o
s
e
a
e
a
s
s
s
a
s
s
a se
I n e ch of the ne xt 4 p ge one word h been l tered
to m ke the me ning non en ic l I n e ch p ge pick ou t the
mi fi t t i g word
d ch nge every hi ndr nce in t o help
6 The mind conver t
And thu i t i prob ble I m y g in by oppo ition d le t t h e
ob ta cle hinder me on the ro d
a
a
a
s
n
s
s
a
s
as
a
.
a
so a s
a ssa
.
s an
.
s
s
a ssa
s
s
a
a
a
a
.
a
a
s
.
an
G ROUP TESTS O F INTELLIGENCE
1 32
I
n
book
buying
you
no
t
infrequen
t
ly
condone
e
xt
r
v
g
nce
7
by the refl ec tion th t thi p r ticul r purch e will be b d inve t
men t th t you
no t qu ndering income b ut inking c pital
th t he exclude
8 The e x clu ive in f hion ble li f e doe no t
him elf from enjoymen t in the ttemp t to ppropri t e i t The
e xclu ioni t in relig ion doe no t
th t he hu t the door of
he ven on him elf in triving to hu t in o ther
The
he
r
t
gre
t
re
ervoir
which
di
t
ribu
t
e
food
drink
i
9
d he t from every p r t of t he y t em in e x ch n g e for it
i
w t e m t eri l It knock t the g t e of every org n even ty or
eigh ty t ime minu t e c lling upon i t to receive it upplie d
unlo d it refu e
Among the following 8 en t ence ome wi tty (c ll them W)
o ther
wi e well d expre profound t ru th (c ll them T)
o ther a re commonpl ce (c ll them C) a nd o ther
non en ic l
ome
t
hing
illy
or
t
he
me
t
hing
t
wice
s t hey ei t her
y
y
c
ll
t
hem
M
rk
e
ch
on
your
a
n
wer
p
per
W
T
C
or
N
(
an
-
.
a
:
a
s
a re
s
s
a
s
s
a
a
a
s a
.
s a
s
s
a
,
s
a
s an
s s
s s
s
s
sa
s
s
a
,
sa
s
a
a
as
,
.
,
,
you pu t a ch in a roun d the neck of la ve the o ther en d
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ide con ti tu t e a m jori ty
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wom a n e xcep t in the
1 6 The m a n who r i e hi h nd a g in t
con t emp tible coundrel
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down in 3 differen t w y i
H H H T or T T (where H me n
he d d T t il) I n how m ny diff eren t w y m y four pennie
come down P
cer t in f mily there a re four boy who a re llowe d t o
19 I n
go t o the wimming b aths two at a time I n how m ny diff eren t
p ir coul d they go P
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G R OU P TESTS or INTELLI GENCE
: 34
T HE
C RICHTO N TES T
K EY
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2
CHAPTE R XVI
W H AT
IS I
N T E LL I GEN C E
P
T H E RE
are many way s of approaching t h is question
One way is t o examine the concept as it exists in the
minds of the maj ority of p eople wh o use the term
or to examine the sens e in which the term is used
by modern psychologists A quest of this kind is
not without profit : it at least serves to clarify
the mind of the searc h er
The Editor of The 7ourna l of Ed uca t iona l Psy
chology recently invited a numb er of leading investi
gators in America to state what they meant b y
”
“
Intelligence and the replies sent in by thirteen
of them appear in the issues of the 7 ourna l for March
and April 1 9 2 1 Thes e replies reveal a surprising
variety of opinions no common nucleus of meaning
is discoverable Nor d o the views of European
psychologists show muc h more unanimity It is
possible however to group the various opinions
under three heads : those that regard intelligence
as a single ability common to all intellectual pro
cesses ; thos e that regard it as a group of t wo or
three abilities of varying degrees of generality ;
and those that regard it as representing no real entity
but as merely a convenient term for the average of all
specific abilities
Of those writers wh o hold the first theory man y
.
,
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,
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,
,
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G R OUP TE S TS O F INTELLIGEN C E
1 36
accept Stern s definition : General adaptability
”
to t h e n ew problems and conditions of li fe
B urt
“
defines intelligence as inborn all round mental
”
a capacity to
efficiency
Woodrow calls it
acquire capacity
a phrase that suggests an endless
‘
regression Spearman wh ose name is most closely
connected wit h t h is theory prefers calling the
c entral f actor gen eral ability (s ymbolised by g)
without committing hims elf to t h e view that g is
identical wit h intelligence a s commonly understood
Th e second t h eory t h e group t h eory is held by
‘
Binet wh o regards int ellig ence a s involving at least
t hree f actors w hi c h are t h us summarised by Ter
“
I t s tendency t o take and maintain a
man :
definite direction ; (2 ) the capacity t o make adap
rations for t h e purpose of attaining a desired end
”
and ( 3) t h e power of auto criticism
Another
interesting view of t h e composite nature of in t elli
gence is suggested by Maxwell Garnett wh o says :
“
It is probable that genius a s the word is
commonly understood is more directly measured
by s = v g
c
t h an b y g ( measuring General
Ability or capacity t o concentrate att ention) alon e
or even by c
measuring
Cleverness
as
have
w
e
(
defined it or tendency t o associate by similarity)
”
alone
In other words t h e general factor g is
’
1
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-
,
3
.
-
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,
,
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,
,
,
,
-
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7
,
,
,
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f Ed uc Psy chol xii 1 2 7
of Ex er Ped
i 95
p
of Ed uc Ps chol
2 08
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‘
B r itis h j
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L in t ellig en c e
’
(
I 909
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7
)
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47
d es
,
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i mb é c ile
s
-
”
84
.
in
,
L An nee
’
.
The Mea suremen t of I n telligen ce,
Ed uca t ion a nd World Cit izenship,
p
45
125
.
.
.
Psy chologique
G R OUP TE STS O F INTELL IGENCE
138
concerned with the dissecting planning and re
arranging of the data of experience than with the
mere reception of impressions
It does not seem to me t o b e possible to maintain
a clear cut distinction b etween powers that are
innate and powers that are acquired and t o sa y that
intelligence is concerned wit h t h e former and n ot
with the latter For the truth is that every type
of mental ability whatever it s degree of generality
or particularity is b oth innate and acquired : it
is born with a man as a potentiality it is acquired
as an actuality The most instinctive of man s
t endencies requires some degree of stimulus from
—
n ature s schoolmaster the physical and social en
—
b efore it c a n operate at all ; and some
v iron m en t
amount of exercise and schooling b efore it c a n oper
at e effic ien t ly In other words it n eeds training
Short and rapid and unconscious t h ough t h e process
may b e it is a training process j ust the same The
innate predisposition has b ecome an acquired
ability On the other hand every acquired ability
—
wa s at one time an innate predisposition a latent
or potential ability S omet hi ng wa s there from the
first whether that something wa s merely neural
or psychical or both
The ability to utter articulat e sp eech is generally
recognised as an acquired ability : without the
schooling of special circumstance it cannot exist
The man reared among the b easts of the forest
ff
l
r
c
a
T
n
like
that
in
u
z
a
the
wild
boy
of
Aveyron
e
e
t
a
(
)
would b e a s inarticulat e as the beasts themselves ;
but in their relatio nship towards language there
would b e a world of di ff erence b etween the mind
of the man and the mind of the brute There would
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WHAT I S INTELLIGENCE
13
9
b e a potentiality in the on e which would b e absent
in the other Neither the man nor the brute would
possess d e fa c to the power of speech but one would
have the capacity to acquire this power while the
other would not All that would b e lacking to make
the diff erence actual and tangible would be the
stimulus of a human environment It would sting
into action the slumbering faculty of the man
it would b eat in vain on the mind of the brut e
The world of wild nature which we share with
beast and bird is in itself insuffi cient to awaken the
faculty of speech : the narrower and richer world
of civilised life which we share wit h our human
brothers while suffi cient t o ensure articulat e speech
is insuff icient t o bring into b eing many other latent
human powers such as the power to play the violin
or the power to solve quadratic equations Here the
milieu has to b e narrowed and specialised still
further It has to b ecome a stage managed environ
ment Then only will the capacity to do these
—
special things using the term capacity in the
—
s ense of latent or potential ability b e turn ed into
the ability to do these special thin g s B ut the cap
is
inborn
and
by
a
slight
extension
of
meaning
a CI t
;
y
we may also say that the ability is inborn
Thus the distinction b etween innate and acquired
ability is relative not absolute ; and it is a d ist in c
tion which rests on two factors : first the facility
with which the appropriate environment c a n rous e
that ability to action (in other words the ease wit h
whi ch it c a n b e trained) and secondly the degree of
speciality in the environment itself The shorter
the p eriod of training and the more general and
casual t h e en vironment the more inclined are we t o
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1
G R OUP TESTS O F INTELLIGENCE
o
4
call the ability innate ; the longer the period of
training and the more special and sophi sticated the
environment the more disposed are we to call the
abi lity acquired R elatively to one another the
ability to see is innate and the ability t o spe a k
acquired ; rel atively to on e anot h er t h e ability t o
speak is innate and the abili ty t o read acquired
Nor can we di ff erentiate the t wo typ es by saying
t h at inborn abilities h ave a limit of trainability
while acquired abilities h ave not B ot h h ave their
limits Both are trained along t h e same lines and
pass t hrough the same stages of progress Practice
produces rapid improvement at first t h en t h e rate
of improvement gradually slows down and finally
stops altogether All that further practice c a n d o
is to prevent deterioration The curve of develop
ment whic h b egins by rising steeply gradually
b ends towards the horizontal and ultimately ceases
to ris e at all The force exp ended in training is
subj ect to what economists call
the law of
”
diminishing returns
The process of training a
mental power seems t o me t o resemble in some
respects (the simile must n ot b e pressed too far) the
drawing out of a spiral spring fixed at one end The
spiral yields easily at first but the straighter and
longer it gets the greater the force required t o
stretch it until at last when it gets quite straight it
c a n b e stretched no further
B ut force is still n eeded
to keep it straight Education n eeds a special and
organised attempt to pull out the spirals When
they s eem to come out of their own accord (they d o
not really) the corresponding abilities are said t o
b e innate
S o far we h ave viewed t h e problem of intelligenc e
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I
4
G R OUP TESTS OF INTELLIGENCE
2
so sure that it can b e meas ured that we pay our
electric light bill without a protest
The merest glance at the armoury of mental tests
will suffi ce to show that they do not eliminate know
ledge There is not a single test in Binet s scale or in
any other scale which does not assume some amount
of knowledge on the part of the subj ect Indeed
what the tests test is often nothing b ut knowledge
When the Binet tester says to a child of nine Name
the months of the year
or to a child of six
Show me your right hand
he is s eeking evidence
of knowledge as a personal possession When the
American soldier was asked to state whether denim
was a dance a food a fabric or a drink he was asked
to exhibit some of the knowledge he had amassed
It is clear that intelligence cannot b e tested in
va cuo
it can only b e tested in relation to knowledge
—
We must find out how it deals with knowledg e how
it acquires it at what rate it acquires it and what it
can do with it after acquiring it Given two minds
similarly circumstanced ( a diff icult if not impossible
condition to secure) the mind that absorbs know
ledge the more rapidly is the more intelligent of the
—
two other things being equal Among these other
things the most important is the nature of the
—
knowledge that is absorb ed whether it is the know
ledge that is power or the knowledge that lies as a
dead weight upon the mind
If then both mental tests and examinations
inquire into the knowledge possessed by the subj ect
what di ff erence is there b etween them P There
is t hi s difference The knowledge that the tester
tests is knowledge that the subj ect of ordinary in t elli
ence
cannot
possibly
avoid
He
does
not
s
eek
it
it
g
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WHAT I S INTELLIGENCE
?
I
43
seeks him it t hr usts itself u on him in the common
intercours e of daily life
he examiner on t h e
other hand tests kn owledge that the candidate c a n
all too easily avoid ( and often does) If h e wants it
—
he must seek it in curious places in books and
schools and laboratories On e type of inquiry postu
lates a common background of experience in order
to gauge ability ; t h e other postulates not hing : i t
merely estimates attainments
Although the mere possession of knowledge is
presumptive evidence of intelli gence the power to
use that knowledge is evidence of a much stronger
kind Indeed the power to apply old knowledge to
new situations has often been put forward as the sole
criterion of intelli gence The commonest d efi n i
tions of the term con t ain as a nucleus the notion
of adj ustment of adap t ation of conforming to new
conditions or as some prefer to put it of solving
problems This is intelligence in the narrower
—
sense intelligence in its higher manifestations a t
least if we give the usual meaning to the term
problem And in thi s sense of t h e term it is far too
narrow to cover the whole field of mental testing
If intelligence means the ability to solve problems
then the American group tests are not tests of in t elli
gence Although therefore in both the mind of the
plain man and the mind of the psychologist the con
cept of intelli gence is undoubtedly biased towards
”
what D r Maxwell Garnett calls
clevern ess
cleverness is not regarded by the mental tester a s
an essential part of the thing he is trying t o
measure
It is commonly agreed that the facilitation that
comes from usage an d habit is excluded from wh at we
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G R OUP TESTS OF INTELLIGENCE
44
mean by intelligence The man who c a n add up a
column of figures twice as fast as another is not
—
twice as intelligent not necessarily more in t elli
gent a t all He has probably had more practice that
is all The co m putation has become more auto
matic ; and automatis m is the very antithesis of
intelli gence Yet from the very fact that all the
American group tests are time tests we see that it
is j ust as impossible to eliminate habituation from
mental testing as it is to eliminate knowledge
The upshot of our discussion is that if we generally
accept modern mental tests not of course as perfect
instruments of inquiry but as instruments of in
quiry that are right in kind and reasonably workable
then we must broaden our concept of intelligence
and we must face the fact that we cannot in our
actual testing eliminate knowledge interest and
habituation the most we c a n do is in a very rough
and ready way to standardise their influence We
must broaden our concept of intelligence ; for it is
diffi cult to find any form of mental activity which
intelligence tests do not gauge any corner of the
mind which they do not prob e Not hi ng short of
the mind s general effi ciency in dealing with ex p eri
ence will meet the case And here we see why it is
that English psychologists have as a rule avoided
the word intelligence and have used instead the
broader term general ability
and here too if we
“
adopt that wid e interpretation of inborn which
we have given above and which Mr B urt as a matter
of fact accepts we see the fitness of Mr B urt s
“
definition of intelligence as
inborn all round
”
Professor Adams too has in
mental eff i ciency
h is h appy wa y ex press ed the s ame view in c a lli n g
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CHAPTE R XVI I
L I M I TS
T HE
OF
I
N T E LL I GE N C E
we accept the findings of the last chapter we
are brought face to face with two startling character
The first is that intelligence is unaffected b y
ist ic s
schooling and the second that it ceases to grow
beyond the middle of the teens Not only are the
tests themselves so framed as to exclude book
learning but the training a child receives at school
gives him no advantage over the illiterate in copin g
with these tests This is capable of proof Man y a
child has b een tested and his intelligence quotient
evaluated before he has entered school That
quotient (the ratio his mental age b ears to his real
age) has remained virtuall y unchanged during the
Whole of hi s school career
—
These broad statements made broad for the sake
—
of clearness
stand in need of some slight q ua lifi c a
tions For they are reall y conclusions towards
whi ch the evidence is gradually forcing us rather
than truths capable of strict mathematical proof
It is not quite true that the tests a s they stand at
present entirely ignore book learning ; but rather
that that is the ideal towards which they are tending
It is not quite true that the intelligenc e quotient
always remains constant but it is so often found to
b e nearly constant that the deviations from the rule
IF
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1 46
LIMITS
OF
INTELLIGENCE
1 47
when not due to imperfections of measurement
are probably due t o accidents of health nutrition
or fatigue It is perhaps possible that the develop
ment of intelligence is hastened by education but
if so the acceleration is so slight as to b e n egligib le I
It is only then in a broad and general sense tha t it
can b e maintained that the mental factor that is
b eing tested is independent of schooling and
unsusceptible of training
From the fact that intelligence cannot b e trained
we must b eware of drawing fals e conclusions
we must particul arly b eware of inferring that
intelli gence does not concern the teacher The
truth is that it vitally concerns him The in t elli
gence of his pupils is his most valuable asset nothi ng
else in t h e classroom n either its position nor its
equipment nor t h e age of his pupils nor t h eir social
status nor their previous training n or anything
else is so essential to success in the exercise of his
craft Th ere is all the di ff erence in the world b e
tween intelligent teaching and mechanical teac hi ng
as there is all the di ff erence in the world between
intelligent learning and learning by rote by rule
of thumb by imitation by trial and error or b y
any other method t h at shirks t h e need for thinking
Though the teacher cannot train intelligence he
L
c a n use it
Though it is not the material on w hi ch
he works it is the material with which h e works
We have T hring s authority for saying that the boy
wh o does not use the sense he has got is a fool
It is
then the teacher s business to see that his boys d o
not make fools of themselves
When you tell the plain man that intelligence is
untrainable he finds no d ifli c ult y in acceptin g th e
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148
G R OUP TESTS OF INTELLIGENCE
doctrine He is quite willing t o b elieve that he
owes his intelligence to hi mself or his ancestors and
not to hi s teachers B ut when you tell hi m that he
is no mor e intelligent now than he wa s at 1 6 he will
t hi nk you are talking paradox which is one degree
worse than talking nonsense And when you assure
hi m that you are in earn est he b ecomes angry and
—
says he wa s a young ignoramus at sixteen whi ch
is no doubt true but b eside the point We must
admit that not only is th e notion galling t o our pride
but it sometimes seems t o us that all that we know
that is worth knowing all our real cultur e and
erudition have b een acquired since the age of 1 6 ;
and in the t eeth of this strong convic t ion it seems
preposterous t o assert that our intelligence has not
only failed to keep pace with our culture but h a s
remained exactly where it wa s And it is on our
intelligence that we really pride ourselves we feel
more sur e of it than of our erudition Thi s feeling is
rooted dee not only in the pub lic mind but in the
rof ession a
s then look calmly at the
mind
Let
u
p
evidence We first note that Binet s scale of mental
ages did not extend b eyond 1 5 It is true that he
added a group of five tests for adults but these tests
have sinc e b een found to b e too di fficult for the
average adult They fail to fit in with the rest of
Bin et s scal e which is strictly based on age
performance exp erimentally determined Instead
of indicating a norm they fix an arbitrary standard
As h owever Binet wa s primarily concerned with
the detection of feeble minded c hi ldren it was b ut
n atural that he should have standardised the lower
part of his scale more carefully than the upper part
In mak ing the Stanford Revision of the Binet
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: 50
OF
GROUP TESTS
INTELLIGENCE
as the ages increase the age groups get increasingly
smaller and the quality of intell ect increasingly
higher Such improvement therefore as one would
find in the intelligence of secondary school children
as they proceed up the school is not necessarily due
to the growth of intelligence with age : it may b e
due to the gradual elimination of the less intelligent
I t is almost impossible to feel certain that one has
s ecured a good representative sample of any age
group b eyond that which falls b etween 1 3 and I 4 ;
and the further the group is removed from this the
more diffi cult b ecomes the task
I applied the 3 4 absurdity tests to about
—
pupils in a variety of schools wherever in fact I
co ul d find a reasonable number of pupils ranging
—
b etween the ages of I I and I 8 and I found that the
adults at a woman s training college did no b etter
than the girls of 1 6 at secondary schools and the
adults at an evening school did much worse In
some of the schools tested there was no evidence of
i m provement after 1 2 years of age Where as at
some secondary schools there was a full range of
ages from 1 1 to 1 8 little improvement was shown
af t er 1 5 and none at all after 1 6 Thus I was forced
to conclude that the psychologists were probably
right after all
I could wish that the evidence I s ecured were
stronger ; that the subj ects tested had been more
homogeneous and that the tests had b een more
numerous a nd more varied It must be admitted
too that the validity of my results rests on th e
assumption that the successive age groups tested were
on the average of the same intelligence quotient
that t h e fi f t een y ear old subj ects sa y would b e in
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LIMITS O F INTELLIGENCE
15 1
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a year s time exactly as intelligent as the sixteen
year old subj ects were at the time of testing Only
thus could we regard the curve determined by
the aggregate results as indicating the normal
growth of intelligence
If these results stood by themselves they would
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R O NOLO G C A L
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AG E
W oon n ow
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DI A G RA M
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h ave to b e received with extreme caution As
however they confirm the findings of other p sy
c h olog ist s w e need have less hesitation in accepting
them Such evidence as we possess concerning the
growth of intell igence forces us to b elieve that D r
Woodrow s diagram ( Fig 1 8) gives a fairly accurat e
representation of the essential facts We may state
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G R OUP TE STS
INTE LLIGEN C E
OF
generally that the growt h of intelligence which is
rapid for the first few years gradually slows down a s
the child gets older that after 1 2 years of age the
slowing down is very marked and that after 1 6
further growth is inappreciable It is this retarda
tion of growth that accounts for the fact that Binet
failed to interpolat e in his scale a set of tests either
b etween the ages of 1 0 and 1 2 or b etween the ages of
1 2 and 1 5
omitting the doubtful tests for adults
he could only mark out two steps after the age of 1 0
It follows that a year of mental age is not a fixed
unit ; it gradually diminishes towards the hi gher
end of the scale
If after 1 6 years of age the curve of growth is
virtually horizontal as it seems to b e we are forced
t o conclude that 1 6 is not the average age at which
growth ceases but the maximum age For the
general curve is the resultant of a large number of
individual curves and if the resultant curve is
hor izontal after 1 6 then eit h er all the individual
curves are horizontal after 1 6 or if some ris e others
must fall In other words we must choose between
two alternative suppositions one that nobody im
proves after 1 6 the other that some people in sound
health begin at that age to suffer from senile
decay There is evidenc e for t hi nking that different
races and di ff erent individuals vary in the age a t wh ic h
mental maturity is reached S D Porteus found
that Australian aborigines complete their growth in
intelligence sev eral years earli er than whi te children
The average mental age of recruits in the American
army during the wa r is said to b e somewhere b e
Men t l Te t with D elinquen t a n d Au tr a lia n Aborigin al
”
C hildren P y hol Re xxi v 3 2
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GR O UP TESTS
OF
INTELLIGENCE
posed activity in a hstra ct o but by its univers e of
operation To test the intelligence of adults by
absurdities is itself an absurdity
To measure the intelligence of a man of 40 by
the same tests and the same scale as are used in
measuring the intelli gence of a youth of 1 6 is t o
—
ignore an essential part of t h e problem the nature
—
and extent of the e ff ective environment and t o
place the man under a serious disadvantage
That I take it is the gist of Professor Green s
argument an argument which gains plausibility
from the fact that increased experience brings with
—
it increased power that knowledge may as Herbart
has abundantly shown b ecome itself a kind of
ability ; or to use a Spencerian phrase that fact may
b e changed into faculty The argument gains plaus
ib ilit y too from the wider interests that come with
advancing years The world that interests us at 40
is much larger than the world that interests us at
16
And community of interests is often mistaken
We are disposed to
f or keenness of intell igence
form a hi gh estimat e of t h e man wh o is interested in
what we are interested in who laughs at our j okes
who accepts without demur our opinions and our
prej udices the b ee in whos e bonnet buzzes in tune
with the b ee in our own Then again there is t h e
facility which custom an d habit bring t o all human
activities As we grow older we feel more at home
in the world we do things with less expenditure
of attention and e ff ort ; we h ave formed thought
saving habits and what thought we do bring t o
b ear upon our business or our pleasure is used with
gr eater economy and effectiveness
All t hi s i s so ob vious that it is mentioned only t o
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LIMITS
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INTELLIGENCE
155
point out that it has nothing whatever t o d o with
intelligence : it is altogether extraneous t o the
mind s inherent and original power of applying
thought to the world of experience A man with
a lever can exert more force than a man who us es
brute muscle and a man with a long lever c a n exert
more forc e than a man with a short lever B ut if
we wish to compare the men on the b asis of their
muscular strength we must take away their levers
or if t hi s is impossible we must give them all levers
of the same size This is precisely what W e try to
do when we test intelligence We cannot take away
all the instruments whi ch the mind has forged for
itself in its commerce with the world but we c a n
s ee to it that the instruments used are of a pp rox i
mately the same power ; we c a n deprive the older
subj ects of the advantage gained by more extensive
knowledge and more facile skill We c a n make
”
them all start at scratch
There is no inj ustice
in this kind of h andicap it is the scientific means
of eliminating t h e influence of factors whi c h form
no part of the essence of t h e problem
Another argument that h a s b een used is that
intelligenc e is an
abstraction
I h ave kn own
metaphysicians in h eated moments fling the terms
”
”
abstractions and abstract t hi nking at on e
another a s a warning or a reproach B ut t o the
mental t ester there is n o t error in the terms En
gaged as he is in th e solution of severely practical
problems he sees n o danger in abstract thinking
Indeed he suspects that all thinki ng wort hy of the
name is abstract thinking ; and he knows that all
measurements a re measurements of abstractions
When he measur es th e length of a material obj ect
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G R OUP TE STS O F INTELLIGENCE
156
he is well aware that the length is a pure abstraction
that it has no existence apart from t h e other
dimensions or indeed from the whole complex of
qualities which in some mysterious way constitute
the obj ect S O when he measures intelligence he
knows quite well that he is deal ing with but on e
quality or one group of qualities of that highly
complex t hi ng called the mind and not with a
separate entity that exists in itself by itself or for
itself
The argument goes on t o urge that we cannot
predict the efficiency of a man s mind in a large field
of labour from observing its eff icienc y in a small
field of labour that when the milieu is changed t h e
intelligence is c h anged ; that in fine we have no
right t o sa y that he wh o is intelligent in little is
intelligent also in much A dullard at sc h ool may
b ecome a successful nay even a distinguis h ed ma n
in the outside world ; and the brilli ant b oy at
college may in after life take hi s righ tful place among
the multitude of nobodies To argue thus is to make
the one the rule and the ninety and nine the ex c ep
tion The truth is that the valuations of sc h ool
and coll ege are as a rule verified in after lif e When
they are falsified as happens in rare instances t h e
explanation is simple : the pupils in question were
misunderstood at sc h ool wh ere little account is
taken of special interests and of peculiarities of
temperament Th ere are certain elements of c h ar
acter which count for more in life than in sc h ool :
initiative for inst ance and doggedness in t h e p ur
suit of on e s purpose And in this respect a mental
t est is no better than an examination ; neit h er of
t h em s earc h es t h e h eart of t h e c hi ld nor does it
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158
G RO UP
TE S T S O F
IN TELLIG E N C E
of months of soldiering in the training camp and
the field of battle Then they were convinced
And when nearly two million men were so tested
and the evaluations so confirmed the whole nation
was convinced as well
Nobody claims that predictions based on mental
tests are absolute and infallible for it is realised that
certain important factors are left out of the reckon
ing ; but it is demonstrable that mental tests have
greater predictive value than either examinations
or records of school progress or the personal opinions
of teachers and guardians It is demonstrable that
a child s performance on the miniature stage pre
pared for him by the mental tester is generally
speaking an earnest of his performance in the larger
theatre of life What point therefore is there in
discussing on a pr iori principles whether intelligenc e
c a n be torn from its surroundings and still liv w
Whether intelligenc e operating in one sphere remains
the same if it is transferred to another sphere ?
Theories however self consistent t h ey may b e
must ultimately yield t o the logic of fact A
disciple of Z eno s wa s once trying to convince
D iogenes the Cynic of the impossibility of motion
D iogenes answered his argument by mo ving away
Far too much store has been set on t h e arg ument
that in comparing the intelligence of the man of 40
with that of the youth of 1 6 we have to place both
subj ects in a common intellectual world which
must perforce be the world of the youth and in so
doing we merge the man into a strange and un
familiar universe B ut wh y strange and unfamiliar ?
It is not a cloud land remote from his own universe
but is itself a part of his own universe It is the
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LIMIT S
OF
I NTELLI G EN C E
15
9
common workaday world with which high and low
—
old and young come into daily contact the world
where cakes and ale abound and where ginger is
hot in the mouth To take at random on e of my
own
absurdities (the typ e of test at which the
—
criticism has mainly been levelled) the one about
the old gentleman who said that he had always
noticed that if he did not di e in March he was all
—
right for the rest of the year c a n it b e seriously
contended that the elements of this problem lie
within the lad s universe and outside the man s ?
If in handicapping the man we rob him of his
superior strength how comes it that in imposing a
similar handicap upon the youth no such robbing
takes place P Plunge the youth of 1 6 into the uni
vers e of the child of 6 and the child wil l b e b eaten
at all points S o whatever theory of intelligence we
embrace we must account for the fact that there is
something more than the mere accumulation of
knowledge so m ething which grows in the mind of
the chi ld and does not grow in the mind of the adult
Those who feel easier when they c a n translate
things mental into things physical may find in the
fact that the brain reaches its maximum W eight at 1 5
a comforting explanation of t h e theory I have tried
to expand B ut they will also have to face the
disconcerting fact that by the middle of the fifth
year the brain has already reached over 90 per cent
of its final weight
It s eems impossible therefore
to establish a complete paralleli sm b etween increas e
of brain weight and increas e of intelligence
Though we accept with equani m
ity the limita
I t ke t he e f c t from Woodrow B ight
d Dull
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pp 66 8
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1 60
G R OUP TESTS O F I NTELLIGENCE
tions of our bodies the very notion of limitations
in our minds rous es our hostility and s ets our defences
bristling We love to think of the mind as a system
of muscles that grow progressively and indefinitely
bigger and stronger as we exercis e them or as a sword
that gets ever brighter and keener as we use it And
if the doctrine of intelligence discredits t hi s opti
mistic V iew by shutting O ff the vista of progress in the
direction of int ell igence it retrieves the balance by
opening out vistas in other directions It is only
after intelligence h a s ceased to grow that the mind s
most treasured lore b egins t o grow There is n o
delusion in t h inking that it is after 1 6 that we h ave
acquired the bulk of the knowledge and culture and
taste which we most highly value and most ardently
cherish And t hi s is becaus e as C hildren we had t o
make our intell ectual conquests by means of an
intell igence that was imperfect and immature
And now having said what I b elieve t o b e the
broad truth of the matter let me make a slight
r eservation In climbing a very hi gh mountain we
b egin by counting our progress in miles but in
course of time we come to count it in yards or even
feet and inches ; and the climbing which at first
is pleasant and exhi larating at last becomes painful
and exhausting ; and few there are that reach the
r a rifi ed air of the higher slopes
S o it may b e with
our inte lligence
Our measurements refer to the
many ; and the many will climb only when it is
easy to climb t h ey will travers e the miles mapped
out by h eredity but will not forge ahead among
the feet and the in ches D r Maxwell Garnett in
his monumental book on Education and World
C i t izens h ip gives cogent reasons f or t h inking t h at
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CHAPTE R XVI I I
C O RR ELAT I O N
is not easy to follow the arguments used by
experimental psychologists unless one has a fairly
clear idea of what is meant by correlation As used
in statistical work correlation has nothing to do with
Herbart nothing to do wi t h the snowdrop It is a
—
—
new comparatively n ew mathematical device for
indicating the nexus b etween two measurable
quantities it t ells how far we may expect on e of
them to vary concomitantly with the other Al
though the question wa s first broached by Bravais
n early 8 0 years ago it was not till Sir Francis Galton
published in 1 8 8 8 his paper on Correlations and
their Measurement that the subj ect was seen t o b e of
great scientific importance Since that day the
theory of correlation has b een developed by Pro
f essor K arl Pearson and others into a means of math
e m a t ic a l analysis which h a s proved an inestimable
boon to the psychologist An attempt is made in
this C hapter and the next to explain in the simplest
possible wa y the significance and use of correlation
formulae and to give the reader sufficient knowledge
to calcul ate correlations for himself and to interpret
the results obtained by others I give him an
informal introduction to the subj ect to kn ow it well
he must cultivate it s acquaintance for himself The
chapter presupposes no special mathematical know
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1 63
CORRELATION
—
ledge on the part of the reader nor for the matter
,
of that on the part of the author
Let us b egin by refusing to b e overawed by a
formula Professor D e Morgan in discussing the
formula for the numb er of cannon balls in a pyramid
of given base used to remind his hearers that the
formula could tell them no more than co ul d b e dis
covered by counting the balls Counting is the
logical ground of all mathematics includin g correla
tions We will start therefore from the counting end
Let us suppose that a teacher has a clas s of 1 5
boys (a h c
whom he examines in eight
He arranges the marks in
subj ects (P Q R
column s as shown in Table I II It must b e under
TABL E III
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G ROUP
1 64
TES T S OF
I N T ELLI G EN C E
stood that the marks here given are wholly imaginary
and are not at all likely to b e obtained at a real
exa mi nation : they are in fact sp ecially C hosen to
ill ustrate certain principles
Columns P and Q are identical However well
or ill a pupil does in one of these subj ects he does
equally well or ill in the other The correlation
b etween them is positive and perfect and is expressed
mathemat i cally as a correlation of I The usual
method of representing marks of t hi s kind geom
e t ric a lly is by means of a scatter diagram as in F ig 1 9
Each point or cross represents a boy s position in
subj ect P (horizontal axis) and in subj ect Q (vertical
axis) This is the ordinary wa y of presenting the
data but at the suggestion of D r Wi liam Garnett
I have adopted throughout this C hapter a di ff erent
mode of presentation : I have changed the origin
of c o O rdination from the point of intersection of the
z ero lines to the point of intersection of the mean
lines The mean lines now b ecome the t wo axes
and all the measures are regarded as deviations
As the mean mark in column P is 1 5 a s mark
deviates from the mean by
1 3 h s mark by + 1 0
and so on until o s mark is reached which deviates
13
by
This new way of treating the measures
is illustrated in Fig 2 0 which represents the same
data as Fig 1 9 the only di ff erence b ein g that the
origin is in a diff erent place The chief advantage
of the C hange of origin is that it brings out the im
portant fact that correlation depends wholly on
the range of variation and in no way on the zero of
measurement which may b e and O ften is a purely
arbitrary datum To quote from a letter of D r
“
G arn et t s
The correlation between t h e heigh t s
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1 66
G R OUP TESTS OF IN TELLIGENCE
Looking at Fig 1 9 or Fig 2 0 we see that the
points representing the positions of the scholars lie
in a straight line R arely however d o the points all
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lie in a straight line though in most cases it is possible
—
to find a line whi ch shows the general trend a b est
fi t t in g line which it is customary to call t he lin e of
,
CORRELATI O N
1 67
from the fact that Galton in his writings
on heredity used a geometrical device of this kind t o
show t h at the mean heights of o ff spring tended to
”
regr ess b ack towards the mean of the race
It
regress ion ,
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S us a c c r
2!
will b e observed that the line of regression here makes
an angle of 4 5 with the axes and that the diagram
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is divided up into four quadrants F F U and U
Now compare with column P column R which
is column P turned upside down The relationshi p
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1 68
G R OUP TESTS OF INTELLIGENCE
is perfect of its kind but negative a boy wh o does
well in on e of these subj ects does badly in the other
and v ice versa Plot the measures as b efore ( Fig 2 1 )
and note that the line of regression is straight that
it makes an angle of 4 5 with the axes and that all
‘
the points lie in the quadrants U and U
The
1
correlation is
Now look at column S Here the marks allotted
t o each pupil are three times a s great a s in column
P This may b e due to many causes ; one of the
papers was three times a s long a s the other or three
times as h ard relative to the standard of knowledge of
the class or one of t h e examiners wa s three times a s
lib eral as t h e other Whatever the cause it is C lear
t h at there is a constant relation between the per
f orma n c es of the several pupils in the t wo subj ects
and that t h e correlation is perfect or unity Taking
t h e marks as they stand let us see how they appear
in a diagram ( Fig
The first thing that strikes
us is that the line of regression no longer bisects the
angle b etween t h e axes ; it no longer slopes at an
angle of
B ut this line the 4 5 line is the lin e
of perfect correlation and any departure from that
angle means a f alling short of perfection Indeed
t h e angle which the line of regression makes with
the nearer axis should represent that important ratio
known as the coeff icient of correlation or r If
the angle is 4 5 the tangent is 1 and the coeffi cient
if the angle is less than 4 5 its tangent is less than
1
unity and the coeffi cient is less than unity Th e
tangent of the angle whic h the line of regression
in Fig 2 2 makes with the vertical axis is manifestly
wh ereas t h eoretically it should b e 1 If t h erefore the
diagrammatic method is t o b e pursued some adj ust
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1 70
GROUP TE STS
OF
INTELLIGENCE
When this is done the diagram b ecomes identical
with Fig 2 0
It follows that the slop e of the line of regression
is not an index of the degree of correlation unless
some adj ustments are made among the measur e
ments L et us examin e the nature of thos e a d
j ustments Looking at the diagram ( Fig
we
in order to secure the 4 5 line of re
see t h at if
o three
we
stretc
h
the
horizontal
axis
t
r ession
g
times its size enlarging all it s parts proportionally
n e t hi rd of
or
if
we
shorten
the
vertical
axis
to
o
(
its siz e reducing all its parts proportionally) we
make the means of the two series of marks the same
and we make the mode and degree of dispersion
of the two s eries the s ame Are both conditions
essential P If as was pointed out above the position
of t h e zero of measurement does not matter it is
clear that the average does not matter either
Suppose for instance that we added a certain
number of marks say ten to each of the i tems in
column P Table I I I we raise the average of the
s eries b y ten but we in no way change the deviations
If t h e marks in column P as it now stands and the
marks increased severally by ten were plotted in a
diagram that diagram would di ff er in n o respect
from Fig 2 0 The absolute value of the average
does not matter it is the dispersion alon e that is
significant
The mea sure of dispersion that is nowadays used
in calculating the coeff i cient of correlation is for
reasons that n eed not detain us h ere the standard
deviation or 0 The simplest measure of d isp er
sion is the mean deviation whi ch is merely the
average of the deviations that appear in t h e scatter
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CO RR ELATION
I
1
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diagrams in t hi s book T o find the standard
deviation the several deviations must be squared
before finding the mean ; and the square root must be
taken after finding the mean The standard devia
tion of the marks in P is
of the marks in 8 2 0 7
thr ee times a s great The essential condition
therefore of whi ch we are in s earch is that the
standard deviation of the t wo series should b e the
same This c a n b e secured by taking the standard
deviation of each series as the unit of measurement of
—
t h at series a device of whi c h more will b e said later
Thi s principle may b e further illustrated by
reference to column T in Table I I I Here the
boys come out in t h e same order of merit as in P
but t h e marks are differently distributed In T
t h ey cluster more closely round the mean The
measures (graphed in Fig 2 3 ) all appear in the
quadrants F and F and although they d o n ot all
lie exactly in the lin e of regression they n ever
diverge widely from it The correlation is mani
festly almost a s p erfect as in Fig 2 0 : it is in fact
n early 1 There is however the same peculiarity
in the slope of the line of regression as was noticed
in the last example and it is manifestly due to the
s ame cause the di ff erent degrees of disp ersion in
the two s eries The standard deviation of the marks
in P is
and of t h e marks in T
One is in
fact nearly twice a s large as the other If therefore
we use the standard deviation of the group as the
unit of measurement for that group the unit for
P covers twice as many of the teacher s marks as
the unit for T To make the distributions equal
and the marks comparable we must in plotting the
measur es give each mark in T twice as much space
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1
,
.
.
.
.
—
.
.
,
’
.
G R OUP TESTS OF I NTELLIGENCE
1 72
a mark in P This is done in Fig 2 4 What we
have don e is to stretch out the more compressed
series so as to make it as widely distributed as the
other And again as in the previous instance we
alter the slop e of the line of regression Then we
got it perfect now nearly perfect
Galton used a diagrammatic sch eme of t hi s kind
as
.
.
.
,
,
.
.
,
FI G : 25
method of adj usting t h e distributions of the
t wo series was t o make the interquartile ranges
The in terqu a r tile r a nge inclu de s the middl e h lf of the number
t of ex a min ation p per in order
of c a e I f a t e cher a rr nge
of meri t a nd divide them in to two equ l group the m rk ob t ine d
by the middl e p aper of the lower g oup is the lower qu r tile a n d
the m rk ob t ined by the mid dl e p per of the upper group i the
upper qu a r til e The di ff erence be t ween the e two m a rk i the
in t erqu a r tile r a nge
but
his
I
1
a
s s.
a
a
s a se
s
a
s,
r
a
s
a
a
a
a
,
a
a
s
s
.
.
s
s
OF
GROUP TESTS
17
4
INTELLIGENCE
position If the reader will try to plot a linear
s eries of points which shall not coincide with the line
of perfect correlation and at the same time shall
represent marks of equal dispersion he will realise
the impossibility of the task
B ut although we cannot find on e such row of
points which fail to coincide with the line of perfect
correlation (positive or n egative) we c a n find two
such lines Look at Fig 2 5 for instance where I
have plotted 2 9 points with the following c o
ordinates expressed as in the other diagrams in
terms of deviations from the means ( 2 7
1
8
6
6
(
(7
(9
(9
(
(
I
I
2
O
I
O
(4 "
(3 ) (
(3
(
(
)
2
I
3
)
3
.
,
.
,
.
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
3
)
:
6s
—9
’
’
’
)
)
:
6)
’
,
,
,
,
,
:
7a
93
2
2
7’
9)
The standard d evra t I on I s the same I n both series
Her e we have two best fi t t in g lines
—
two lines of regression each diverging equally
from the line of perfect correlation each making
with the nearer axis an angle whose tangent is one
t hi rd The coefficient of correlation is accordingly
one third or 3 Thi s diagram may b e taken as an
—
ideal type of all scatter diagrams ideal b ecaus e it is
a purely hypothetical example devised to make
manifest certain features that are obscured by the
helter skelter distribution of points in the diagram
arrived at in experimental work There are always
as a matter of fact two lines of regression except
when the correlation 13 perfect ; and when the
correlation is perfect we may suppose the two lines
The usual method of findin g
t o have coalesced
-
,
.
-
'
.
-
.
,
.
,
,
CORRELATION
1 75
the regression lines in a scatter diagram is t o plot
a much larger number of points than I have placed
in any of thes e diagrams and then to divide the
surface into a number of horizontal strips of equal
and uniform width a width repres enting s ay 2 5 or
1 0 units
The mean position of the points in each
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
strip is then found and the direction of thes e m ean
points gives one line of regression The other li ne
of regression is found in a similar wa y by taki ng
vertical strips instead of horizontal strips Of the
two lines of regression one shows the regression of
f
o
and
indicates
t
h
e
most
probable
value
x
n
o
y
y
,
.
.
,
1 76
G R OUP TE STS OF I NTELLIGENCE
for any given value of x ; the other shows the re
r ession of x
on
and
indicates
the
most
probable
g
y
value of x for any given value of y
L et us now consider the rel ation b etween column
P and column V There is no perceptible connec
tion b etween them except that the same numbers
appear in both And t hi s is not surprising for the
.
.
.
S us a e c r
P
FI G: 2 8
order in column V was deter mi ned by writing the
numbers in column P on dried b eans shaking the
beans up in a bag and taking them out at random
The e ff ect of plotting the two series is seen in Fig
26
It wi ll b e noticed that the points are widel y
s cattered and are almost equally distributed among
the four quadr ants Moreover it seems impossible
t o fi n d by inspection a b est fi t t in
line
We
ma
y
g
,
.
,
.
.
.
,
-
.
GROUP TESTS
1 7s
OF
INTELLIGENCE
method of horizont al and vertical strips as described
above we should find in t hi s instance the k nes of
regression tending to coincide with t h e two axes
‘
As the line bisecting the quadrants F and F is the
line Of p erf ec t positive correlation and the lin e at
right angles to it and bisecting the quadrants U and
U the line of perfect negative correlation so are
the two axes the lines of regression whi ch indicate
the absence of correlation And the degree t o
which regression lines approach these limiting
positions serves as a C lue to the relationship b etween
the variates compared
S o far we have discovered t h at wh en the measures
of the correlated series are set forth in a graph thos e
that appear in two of the quarters are favourable t o
a positive correlation and those that appear in the
other two are favourable to a negative correlation
When they are a lmost equally distributed among the
four quarters the correlation approximates zero
Wh en the distributions of the two series are adj usted
by using the standard deviation of each as its unit of
measurement the slope of the regression lines aff ords
an index of the degree of correlation b etween the
series
I will now give the Bravais Pearson product
moment formula for the coe ffi cient of correlation
r
s
and
e
e
how
it
fits
in
with
our
findings
()
n
,
.
,
'
1
,
.
.
,
,
.
.
,
.
-
,
N0 1 0};
In this formula or and y stand for the deviations of
eac h of the measures from the mean value of its series
0 1 for the standard deviation of the first series
f or the standard deviation of t h e s econd series 2
,
,
,
CO RRELATION
17
9
for summation and N for the numb er of things or
persons measured The significance of the formula
c a n best b e studied by applying it to a specific
instance Let us apply it to find the correlation
b etween the marks in column P and the marks in
column Z in the example on p 1 8 0 The various
numerical steps set forth should b e compared with
the corresponding graph ( Fig
The average
of series P is 1 5 and column or gives the deviations
of each measure in the series from 1 5 Thus a
deviates by 1 3 h by 1 0 et C In the same way
column y gives the deviations of Z from its average
16
The product of x and y for each p u i1 is
placed in the last column ; and it is the a lg ehra ic
su m of these products (6 2 ) that forms the numer
4
ator of the fraction in the formula When a pupil s
deviations from the averages are positive in both
series (a s deviations for instance) or negative in
both like m s his position in the graph lies in one
‘
of the quadrants F and F and the product of his
deviations b eing positive helps to swell the positive
element in the numerator and to increase the degree
of correlation When on the other hand a pupil s
variations are of different signs such as those of
‘
1
and
his
diagrammatic
quadrant
is
U
or
U
and
f
the product of his deviations b ecomes negative
helping to swell the negative element in the numer
ator and to reduce the degree of correlation More
over the n earer the diagonals a point lies the more
does the product of its deviations contribute towards
deciding the nature and magnitude of the numerator
in comparison with the contribution which the
squares of these deviations make towards the
magnitude of the denominator
,
.
.
.
.
.
,
.
,
.
,
,
.
’
.
’
,
,
’
,
,
,
,
,
’
.
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
.
G R OUP TESTS OF INTELLIGENCE
1 80
E XA MPL E
O F CO RRELATI O N (PRODUCT MO ME NT
F O RMU LA)
-
x
y
.
x 2
.
13
o
10
HH
“
m
.
V
H
N
m
H
A
-
o
O
w
H
a
r
N
!a
.
p
m
m
o
r
h
C
fl
HO
xy
HP-
a
m
.
8
O
\
The labour of evaluating
and
is saved by
using a formula whic h is equivalent to the original
on e
.
r
64 2
77
G R OUP TE STS O F IN TELLIGENCE
1 82
For calculating the coeffi cient of correlation there
are two labour saving devices with which the reader
should make hims elf familiar The first is the use
-
.
of
Ewy
the form ul a r
2x
2
X 2y
Z
I n st ea
Ex y
d of r
N o am)
To appreciate the advantage of the former the reader
should apply both to the data furnished in the ex
ample on p 1 8 0 That the two formul ae are eq uiva
lent may b e shown thus
.
.
2
X
l
/
E
\
1
x
2
V
2
—N V
2
%
’
“
2y
I Ex
2
X 2y
2
N
2
2
.
The second labour saving device b ears on the
setting forth of the data It will be found in p ra c
tice that the mean of the measures will rarely work
out exactly there will b e a fraction which by the
way it is not necessary to carry b eyond the first place
of decimals This complicates the process of c om
puting the deviations and the squares of the devia
tions The complication may b e avoided by taking
as a provisional mean the nearest whole number and
restoring the balance afterwards Let us suppose
for instance that in column P (p 1
the actual mean
i s not 1 5 but 1 5 3 and in column Z not 1 6 but 1 8
5
We could then complete the calculations thus
-
.
.
,
,
.
.
,
.
,
,
.
,
.
P
Means
Provisional means
D i ff erence d 1
15
°
Z
3
8
15
16
15
'
3
d ,=
o
2
CORRELATION
2
o
r
2
1
7
:
Subtract Nd ?
x
8
97
Nd §
1
35
1
2
6
7
2
y
4
5
1 83
06
Nd l d ,
64 2 9
S ee3
64 2
0
9
64 2 9
9 774
’
y
°
.
77
.
It will b e observed that if we had merely taken
the round numb ers for the means and made no
compensation at all it would not have made a
difference of 0 1 in the result
Having taken the trouble to compute the cor
rel ation between the marks obtained by 1 5 pupils in
I will
t wo hypothetical branches of study P and Z
n ow point out that the res ul t arrived at is worthless
—or almost worthless It is worthl ess b ecause the
number of pupils is so s mall For it must b e r e
membered that when we are in search of a correla
tion coefficient we are mainly concerned not with
discovering the correlation b etween the a chi evements
of a particular group of pupils but with discovering
the correl ation between two branches of study or
and unless the coefficient
t wo types of abili t y ;
obtained holds good (within a reasonable margin of
error) for other groups of pupils tested at other
—
times unless it has general applicability as a trust
worthy measure of the concomitant variation of the
factor tested it has no value whatever as a basis of
inference There is n o known method of finding
with absolute certainty the corr elation between two
variables if only one sample is tested The best
method is the product moment method which I
'
.
,
.
.
,
,
,
.
.
,
-
I
84
G R OUP TE S TS O F INTELLIGENCE
have j ust explained ; but this method is b ased on
certain assumptions which are at best only a p p rox i
mately true It assumes for instance that each of
the factors to b e compared and correlated is normally
—
distributed that it follows pretty closely the normal
—
curve of error and furt h er that the particular
group measured is a good sample a representative
sample a sample which exhi bits the general features
of the complete group There is little danger in
assuming that any type of ability which the teacher
measures conforms to the normal curve (nature has
so frequently b een found to distribute her gifts in
this particular wa y that the assumption is amply
j ustified) ; but there is much danger in assuming
that the few cases tested fully represent the whole
class of things to which they b elong There is on e
thi ng that we ma y safely sa y and that is that the
larger the number of cases tested provided of cours e
they are t a ken at random and not selected the more
trustworthy will b e the results When the numb er
of cases is small the special features of the normal
distribution curve are unlikely to appear and stand
ard deviation is robb ed of muc h of it s significance
Wh en t h e numb er of cases is large enough to display
roughly at least t h e characteristics of normal
distribution the mere statement of the mean and
of the standard deviation reveal s the general shape
of the curve and inferences c a n legitimately b e
drawn from that statement The standard deviation
c a n then t oo b e advantageously used a s a unit of
measurement for the group It is generally agreed
that when t h e number of cases is less than 3 0 even
the product moment formula will fail t o yield a
trustworthy coeffi cient of correl ation
,
.
,
,
,
.
.
,
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
.
-
.
G R OUP TE STS OF INTELLIGENCE
1 86
TABLE I V
ank
ifi p
P “P”
°
a nI
II Q I
I
.
PR
dz
'
1
a
1
I
h
2
2
f
3
4
S
6
g
7
C
d
’
6
k
a nk
.
0
0
2
7
2
5
7
6
3
41
5
6
1
2
I
2
2
7
h
3
2
3
2
5
I
0
0
2
7
same in both subj ects the di fference in the ranks of
o d
0 and 2 d
each pupil is nought d
0
When however the order in one subj ect is exactly
”
the r everse of the order in the other Ed is at its
maximum I have in Table IV made the order in
Q the revers e of the order in P and I have done the
same for eight pupils in subj ects R and S By
inspecting the columns under ( 1 in the table and
comparing them with the series dealt with ab ove it
will be seen that when 2 d is greatest it amounts to
I ) or to
twice {; N(N
When the ranks
0
are the same the correlation is 1 and Ed
when
the ranks are as di ff erent as they can b e the correla
tion is
1 and i d
I ) What would
”
Ed b e when the correlation is 0 ; that is half wa y
1 P Presumably h alf %N(N
between 1 and
1)
or %N(N
I ) This conclusion is confirmed by
the fact that %N(N
I ) is the value that the sum
”
of the d s would have if the ranks were deter mi ned
by taking numb ered coun ters at random out of a
2
.
,
2
.
,
,
,
.
.
2
,
,
2
2
2
g
.
,
2
’
.
2
CORRELATION
18
7
bag ; or in other words if the position of the
pupils were settled by C hance alone
R eturning to the origi nal formul a
.
2
2 11
2
N
N
% (
P
I
)
”
we readily see that wh en Ed
when
O
1
p
—
I)
it equals
1
and
w
h
en
it
;
p
I)
equals %N(N
It
thus
validly
applies
o
p
to the two extremes and the middle and may b e
presumed to a ff ord a comparative measure of
intermediate degrees of correlation The formula
is usually put in the neater form
,
:
,
2
.
,
,
.
6211
2
I
P
N (N
2
In computing correl ation by the method of ranks
a di fli c ul t y arises when two or more pup i ls are
bracketed It is customary in this case to give each
.
EX AMPL E
P
upi l
s
.
Ra
nk in P
b
2
c
f
3%
3%
S
6
g
7
I}
8
5
9
s
Ra
nk in Q
.
N
a
d
.
OF RANK CO RRELAT I O N
10
P
:
I
1
H
4
9
4
I
45
G R OUP TE STS O F INTELLIGENCE
1 88
pupil i n the bracketed group the average rank of the
group In the hypothetical example which I have
worked in the accompanying example by the method
of ranks pupils c and d are bracketed together in
subj ect P and pupils c h and i in subj ect Q
The method Of ranks or position was first used by
Professor C Spearman and has been advocated by
him as an excellent method for dealing with p sy
chical as distinct from physical measurements He
has also suggested a still simpler formula called the
foot rule formula It is
‘
.
,
.
,
.
.
,
-
.
R=
I
wh ere g means the gains in rank In the example
j ust worked the gains are made by e f h i and
and they amount resp ectively to 4 2 2 3 and 2 ;
i e 2g
I 3 The correlation b etween P and Q
works out by t hi s formula thus
.
,
,
.
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
R=
1
6 X
1 00
I
3 =
I
I
— —I
8
7
99
It would h ave made no di ff erence if we had taken
the losses in rank instead of the gains ; for what
one gains others lose and the losses and gains are
necessarily equal
The method of ranks has b een criticised on the
ground that it postulates a mode of distribution
among the variates whi ch is n ever found in nature
it assumes that the di ff erences b etween the ranks are
—
all equal that the step from the first to the s econd
is exactly as large as the step from the second to the
third and so on all along the series B ut we know
that the actual distribution of traits in nature does
—
not fit in with t hi s sc h ema that the di ffere n c e s
.
,
.
I
G R OUP TESTS O F I NTELLIGENCE
0
9
falls outside that range In the example on p 1 8 7 the
conversion is effected by changing p = 4 5 into r = 46
The foot rule formula however is quite another
matter Professor Spearman n ever intended it to
b e used for precis e purposes but in order t o gain
”
quickly an approximat e valuation of r
Indeed
the reader if he will deal with R as I have dealt with
—
i
he
will
experiment
with
the
reversing
of
ranks
i
p
—
will discover that for negative correlations R
is valueless He will find that when N is odd it is
impossible to get a negative correlation greater
than
When
N
is
even
the
maximum
correla
5
tion obtainable diminishes as N increases An d
the table for the conversion of R into r shows that
there c a n b e as much di ff erence as 2 3 in the cor
responding values I t is to the credit of R that it
tends to underestimate the value of the coeffi cient
and thus leans to the side of caution
This foot rule method of Professor Spearman s
has proved a great boon as a time saver It is true
that it has b een arrived at empirically and that it
lacks the theoretic soundness of the product moment
method ; but those wh o have used it widely and
compared the results with thos e obtained by other
methods have found that with small groups at any
“
rate it works remarkably well The fact that
it is unsuitable for negative correlations n eed not
—
disturb the teacher for negative correlations hi gh
—
ones at any rat e are n ever found among thos e
mental abili ties which he is concerned in measuring
Since however the di ff erence between R and r is
sometimes considerable it is well to make the c o
eff icient comparable with other coeffi cients by
converting R into r from t h e formula
.
.
°
°
.
-
,
,
.
,
.
,
.
.
.
'
.
.
’
-
-
.
-
,
.
,
,
.
,
,
,
CORRELATION
r —2
—R) —1
c os Z
T
3
or,
more conveniently from Table V
,
TABLE V
The conver ion of R in to
s
r
R
~
01 8
~2 6
~
02
36
~
o5 4
~o 1
7
~o
89
~I o
7
~1 2
4
~1 1
4
1 58
1 76
~1 2
9
‘
2 09
~2 2 6
~
2
~
0
3
0
4
o5
~
06
o7
o8
09
~1 0
~1 1
12
~1
3
'
14
'
15
~1 6
~1
7
'
18
'
19
'
20
'
21
'
22
~2
3
‘
24
'
(
r
2
c os I ( 1
,
.
R)
I
R
~
01
'
19 1
25
1
~
o
'
'
'
2 42
25
9
~2
75
~2 1
9
0
3 7
2
3 3
338
3 54
3 69
3 84
3 99
‘
1
4 4
'
'
'
'
'
'
'
’
.
R
2
4
:
7
~2 8
8
45
'
~2
9
9
4
2
7
:
~0
3
~ 1
3
~2
3
5
14
~
33
34
~
35
~ 6
3
‘
37
~8
3
‘
39
'
0
4
~ 1
4
~2
4
43
‘
44
45
6
4
47
8
4
‘
49
‘
0
5
’
'
'
'
'
~ 11
7
'
~ 21
'
7
2
3
7
Quo ted from the Appendix t o
Applied
)
1
t o Ed uca t ion ,
p
.
02
4
.
Rugg s
’
S ta tistica l
Method s
G R O UP TESTS OF INTELLIGENCE
192
When we divide our pupils into two groups only
h
w
o
ll
such
as
those
wear
white
co
ars
and
those
w
h
o
(
do not those wh o can read and those wh o cannot
those who understand logarithms and those who d o
not or those wh o pass a simple test and those wh o
fail) and wish to find the connection b etween t wo
qualities the most convenient formula to us e is that
recommended by Mr B urt in Appendix I I of
Men t a l a nd Sc hola st ic Tes ts It is called t h e c o
effi cient Oi colligation
,
,
,
,
,
.
.
( I)
F here means t h e numb er of instances wh en both
1
the positive qualities compared are pres ent F the
I
number of instances when both are absent U and U
the numb er of instances in which one is pres ent and
the ot h er absent It will readily b e seen that large
F s are favourable to positive colligation that large
U s are favourable to negative colligation and that
the formula falls in roughly wit h the sc h eme of
quartering in our scatter diagrams
In the finding of correlations there are many
pitfalls We have to b e careful in many ways We
have to b e careful to take a random s ample instead
of a picked s ample and a large number of cases
instead of a sm a ll we have to give no wider inter
ret a t ion
to
the
results
than
the
data
warrant
;
p
and most important of a ll because it is so frequently
overlooked we must b e careful to measure a s
accurately a s the conditions will allow For unless
,
,
.
’
,
’
,
.
.
.
,
,
.
1
G R OUP TE STS OF IN TELLIGENCE
94
set The coeffi cients of correlation between the
two results were calculated by the t hr ee methods
~
~
and the following values obtained r
74
74 p
~
~
~
r w e get
Converting
all
into
and R
74 75
53
~
and 76 There are therefore good grounds for
thinking that when the numbers are small there is
not hi ng to b e gained by C h oosing the most laborious
mode of calculation
I have assumed all along that t h e regression i s
—
linear that t h e li ne which indicates the general
trend of the dots in the scatter diagra m is a straight
line B ut the line of regression is not always a
straight line : it is sometimes a curve There is
for instance a close relationshi p b etween the volume
of a gas and the pressure to which it is subj ected
a relationship expressed in B oyle s Law which says
that the temperature remaining constant the volume
of a gas varies inversely a s the pressure If for a
pressure of on e unit the volume is 60 units the
volumes for I 2 3 4 and 5 units of pressure would
b e 60 3 0 2 0 I 5 and 1 2 respectively When these
volumes are plotted the points will b e found t o lie
in the path of a curve The line of regression is
not straight but hyperbolic For cases of this ki nd
the product moment formul a is not applicable and
a distinct formula has to be used which gives the
correlation ratio or
Since however in those
psychological and educational measurements with
which we are here concerned the regression is nearly
always linear the reader would b e well advised to
devote but little attention t o t h e correlation ratio in
hi s early studies
It suffi ces at that stage t o be
a ware of its existence
—
There is a math e matical test f or li nearity a test
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CORRELATION
1
95
involves a fair amount of calcul ation The
reader will however find it more convenient ( and
perhaps more convincing) if he makes a scatter
diagram of hi s data and j udges for hi mself whether
or not the gener a l trend approxi mates t o a straigh t
line
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,
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,
CHAPTE R XIX
PR
O B AB LE E RR O R
ME N of letters have looked long askance at t h e
word reliable
they doubted its respectability
Statisticians untroubled by such doubts have taken
the word to their bosoms given it definite meaning
and made abundant use of it A reliable test is one
that yields the same results again and again If to
day we measure with a rule the lengt h s of t h e
separate books on a book shelf and to morrow
measure them again we shall find that t h e t wo
results tally If they do not tally we conclude that
we have measured carelessly There was no lack of
reliability in the test but only in the testing When
however we try to measure a mental quality we get
far less uniformity in our findings In applying the
My coll e a gue D r H J gger h reminded me th t reli ble
d more re pec t ble pe di gree t h n it s y nonym
i of more ncien t
”
tru twor thy The in t nce ci ted in the N w E g li h Di t io y
”
how th t tru twor thy ppe red in the world of le tt er 2 60
e
r
f
t
er
t
riv
l
d
i
in
comp
ri
on
p
rvenu
d
up
t
r
t
i
y
The bjec tion to t he truc ture f the word reli ble i of doub tful
v lidity I f reli ble hould be rely o —ble th u hould
l ugh ble be l ugh t ble depend ble depend ou ble
d
v il ble v il—
one elf of —ble The cri tic
fin l re or t
poin t to the kind of people who u the word they
the kind
”
who mi u e individu l
ggr v t e
gener lly
d
d
l cking in a en e of lingui tic proprie ty To thi rgumen t the
reply of the t ti tici n
be umme d up qui t e briefly : i t i
Tu t ! t ut l
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a
a
s a
s a
s
an
a
a
a
a
a
a
s
a
a
-
s
-
a
-
a
-
a
s
a
s
s
a
n a
s
s a
a
s
s
a
can
s
,
s as a
a
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s
196
,
-
a
a
,
s
a re
:
a
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s
-
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an
s a
s
a
se
“
na r
an
a
,
s
a
an
“
O
a
c
s
n
s
a
a
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s
a
e
s
an
a
a
s
a
a
a
a
a
s
s
O
“
s
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a
as
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an
s
s
a
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an
a re
a
s a
s
1
OP
GROUP TE STS
s
9
INTELLIGENCE
those of the first measurement P What in a word
is the reliability of the first measurement P
One t hi ng is certain the average of a group of
children taken at random will di ff er from that of
another group taken at random Y et though the
mean varies from sample t o sample it does n ot vary
lawlessly Wh at then is the law of variation P
Can we from the mean of one group infer the means
of other groups P If so how many groups must we
examine P how many means must we measure P Or
is t h ere anything in the data supplied by t h e testing
of one sample which gives us a clue to the means
of other samples and in t h e last resort a clue t o t h e
mean of the whole group of persons or things of
which the sample is a representative part P Fortun
ately there is A good sample a sample chosen
at random and large enough to display the properties
—
of t h e wh ole group properties whic h we may
—
presume t o b e those of normal distribut i on is able
It points t o certain
t o tell us of t hi ngs outside itself
possibilities in other groups ; it points t o certain
likely values in the on e large inclusive group
Thi s internal evidence of reliabilit y in the sample
is t o b e found in it s size and it s shape By its size
I mean the numb er of units of which it is composed
and b y it s shape I mean the manner in which these
units may b e arranged around t h e average We feel
more confident in our findings when we measure
a thousand single specimens than when we measure
only ten ; an d we feel still more confident if the
individual measures cluster closely round the mean
For if they d o n ot cluster closely round the mean
but are widely and irregularly disposed we know not
wh at vagaries we may meet in the next sample
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PR OBAB LE
E RR O R
1
99
A good illustration of the evidence afforded by
the shape of the sample is given by Mr Elderton and
his sister in their Primer of S ta t is t ics They s et out
to find the average number O f heads that would
resul t from tossing six coins twenty times In this
case the true average is already known ; f or it i s
manifest that the most likely number of heads is
thr ee The first series O f 2 0 tossings yielded a n
~
average of 2 9 5 the second an average of 3 0 5 and
~
the third an average of 3 O5 The experimenters
continued thus until they had found 4 5 of these
means
Then these means were tabulated and
treated as though they were simple measures Their
~
average was 3 and their standard deviation 2 8
Could this degree of dispersion have b een inferred
from the first series of tossings without going t o the
trouble of repeating the s eries 45 times P As a matter
—
of fact it could not with certainty it is true but
with a reasonable measure of probability The
~
standard deviation of the first series of tossings ( 1 1 6)
divided b y the square root of 2 0 the numb er of
~2
tossings gave 7 which agreed closely with the
resul t O btained from actual experiment
Instead of the standard deviation however the
measure of distribution usually chosen is the
”
probable error
The term dates back to the
days when deviations were called errors and when
curve of error was the customary name for the
normal curve of distribution
The probable error or probable deviation is not
more likely to occur than other deviations but is
that deviation which is j ust as likely to b e exceeded
as not to b e exceeded Fig 2 9 represents the b ell
shaped curve of normal distribution with the b as e
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G R OUP TE STS O F INTELLIGENCE
2 00
line indicating the scale of values and the height
of the curve the frequencies with which those values
occur The area between the curve and the base
represents the total numb er of cases The mean
m is in the middle
The prob able error is that d is
tance wh ich when marked off from the mean in both
directions determines half the numb er of cases
Vertical lines have b een drawn with the distances
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FI G
.
29
.
between them equal to the probable error The
shaded area A B C D therefore takes up half the
entire sur f ace : half the measures fall within it
Nine measures out of every eleven fall within the
area E F G H ( erected on : 1: 2 R E ) 2 1 out of every
22
fall within the area K L M N ( erected on
fall within
i 3 R E ) and 99 3 out of every
the area 0 P Q R ( erected on : 1: 4
Thus
practically t h e wh ole of t h e me asur es a re containe d
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2 02
G R OUP TESTS OF IN TELLIGENCE
probable errors of secondary values from the fol
lowing formul a
0
~
67449
P E of a mean
VN
'
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.
PE
.
.
PE
.
.
of
0
of
67449
~
'
1
67449
~
r
—
r
2
m
The probable error of a mean is sometimes called
the probable error of samp ling b ecause it is an index
of the trust we may place in the su ffi ciency of the
sample In the Elderton experiment described above
~
the standard deviation of the means wa s 2 8 and their
~2 8
~
quartile deviation or probable error 67449 X
~
or 1 9 This signifies that the odds were equal that
any particular mean that was calculated would fall
~
~
1
b etween 3
1
and
that
is
between
;
3
9
9
2 8 1 and
When the range of values wa s
doubled the chances were more than doubled ;
they were in fact 9 t o 2 And when we state
the chances of a calculated mean falli ng within a
certain range of the true mean we at the same time
state the C hances of the true mean falling within
a certain range of the calculated mean ; for the
distance from London to Bristol is the same as the
distance from Bristol to London Stated generally
the chances that the true mean lies within
3 ; P E are I to 1
to I
i 2 P E are
2 1 to I
E
are
P
3
1 4 2 to 1
P
E
are
4
1 3 1 0 to 1
P
are
E
5
6 P E are
to I
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PROBABLE ERROR
29
3
SO
important a function is the probable error of a
correlation coeffi cient that I will illustrate and dis
cuss it s use in some detail by reference to an ex p eri
ment which I carried out in the correlation of certain
series of numbers obtained by C hance I took 40
dominoes printed on the back of eac h a distinguish
ing lette r of the alphab et placed them all in a box
and shook them up Then I extracted them one by
one The first to come out was F this I marked
1 on my list
The next was S which I marked 2
Proceeding thus I secured a series of 40 numb ers in
By putting
d ic a t in g the random order of selection
the dominoes back in the box and repeating the
procedure I secured a second series of numbers The
F this time was no 3 4 and the S no 1 6 the other
letters too were all different in rank I proceeded
thus until I had secured ten series of 40 numb ers
each Now since the order of the ite ms in each of
thes e series was determ ined by chance the true
correlation between any two series was zero T o
discover how closely the calculated correlations
would correspond with what was known to b e the
true correlation I set about finding by the method
of ranks the correlation b etween every possible pair
and since there were 4 5 pairs I secured 4 5 coeffi cients
They clearly hovered about zero 2 1 b eing on the
positive side and 2 4 on the negative side The exact
~
arithmetical mean wa s 00 7 The two extreme
~ 1 and
The standard devia
values were 4
~1 8 and their probable
tion of the correlations wa s
~1 2
Verifying this by counting I found that
error
~1 2 and
and
2 1 out of the 4 5 fell between
~
The full distribution is
12
t wo were precisely
displayed in the histogram given in Fig 3 0
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G R OUP TE STS OF INTELLIGENCE
2 04
If t h e formula for prob able error is valid it is
not necessary t o calculate 4 5 correlations to find the
probable error t o calculate one is sufli c ien t The
first correlation I worked out (that between the
first and second series ) amounted t o
and it s
~
probable error was 1 0 There is t h erefore a
'
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~
55
FI G
.
3o
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—
D S T R B T ON
I
I
U I
,
RR E LA T ON
A CH A N C E E R ES
TH E
on
CO
S
I
I
,
CO
E FF C E N TS
I
I
OF
.
discrepanc y b etween t h e t wo estimates of the
probable error the one secured b y empirical methods
~
being the larger b y 0 2 It does n ot follow however
that it is the more accurate It is in fact more than
likely that if I had carried the experiment further
and calculated more correlations I shoul d have
f ound t h e probable error getting nearer and nearer
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G R OUP TE STS OF INTELLIGENCE
2 06
6
and
and 04 B ut if it li es between
5
4
it may b e zero or it may even b e positive Thus
~
26
the evidenc e a ff orded by the first coeffi cient
while presumptive evidence of a negative relation
s hi p between the two series is not conclusive evi
dence of any connection whatever Hence the
common sense rule of statisticians n ot t o accept a
correlation c oefli c ien t unless it is at least three times
as large as the probable error Indeed t h e more
cautious insist on it s b eing at least f our times a s
large
It will b e observed that t h e hi gh est c h ance correla
~
—
tion I obtained was 4 1 a value w hi ch is more than
~
i
four t imes 9 it s probable error Thi s single esti
mate would therefore b e taken by t h e strictest
of statisticians as strong proof of positive relationship
b etween the t wo series and y et as we know there
is no such relationship Th e fact is t h at c h ance
may bring us anything if we persist long enough :
it would even bring a perfect correlation between
two sets of numbers chosen at random If I h ave the
patience ( and the longevity) t o g o on s h uffl ing my 40
dominoes and picking them up at random over and
—
over again I shall ultimately perhaps in a thousand
—
years perhaps to morrow draw a series whi ch is
the exact duplicate of my first series The odds are
tremendously against it s happening at any par
t ic ul a r time or even within any part i cular time but
happ en it will in the long run j ust a s ever y man is
certain to b e bitten by a mad dog if he lives long
enough B ut a s one bite one man comes on an
average once every twenty million years (or t h ere
abouts) we face the prospect wit h fortitude T h e
fact I wis h t o make clear is t h a t an y f reak event of
6
5
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PROBAB LE ERROR
29
7
this kind is j ust as likely to happen now a s at any
particular time that may b e named beforehand A
perfect correlation between two independent series
—
can happen it is within the realm of possibility ;
and it is j ust as likely to happen the first time as at
any o ther time that may b e specified My first
correlation instead of
might h ave b een 1
I
or
The probable error would n ot h ave saved
me for in this case it would have been nought It
follows that even with the safeguard of a prob able
error tagged on to its tail a correlation c oefli c ien t
must b e treated with caution We never c a n b e
quite sure It is j ust as well to repeat t h e calcula
tion a few times to see what happens
The prob able error is for all that a very valuable
—
—
index of reliability or of unreliability and t h e
reader wh o has any traff ic wit h correlations s h ould
always append this index Professor K arl Pearson
and his students have saved us the bother of c om
vrn
i
uting
from
formula
by
us
a
table
of
probable
g
g
p
errors already computed Others h ave constructed
—
this ready reckoner for t h emselves ; and ot h ers are
content to borrow I am on e of the borrowers
Table VI is quoted f r om R ugg
In the example mentioned in the preceding
chapter the correlation b etween two sets of mental
~
t ests given to 3 8 pupils wa s found to b e 74 cal eu
lated from the product moment formula This
value of r must b e considered along W I t h its prob
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able error whic h from the formula
,
67449
~
I
r
2
VN
0
or
from
Table
VI
is
equal
to
or
nearly
0
)
(
49
5
Hence it is as likely as not that the true coeffi cient
~
~
.
G R OUP TESTS OF INTELLIGENCE
2 08
TH
XBI J E VG:
PR O B AB LE ERR O R
CO EFF
or T HE
I
C I EN T
or
CORR LAT O N
E
o ~4
20
1 5 08
I 49 3
0
3
12 31
1 2 19
1 1 82
0
1 06 7
1 05 6
1 02 4
1 00
9 54
0 806
06 74
09 44
1 50
0551
0 5 46
052
2 00
04 77
0472
0
2 50
0
26
0 21
4
o
5
0
7
0
0
3
0
0
4
0
0
5
1 000
0
4
038
9
03 37
0 30 2
02 1 3
0 79 8
I
0 774
066 8
4
0 3 86
03 3
4
0 2 99
02 1 1
9
8
5
4
037
4
03 2 4
02 0
9
02 0 5
I
06
3 73
0 78 8
1 12 1
06 8 3
0 8 68
06 1 0
0 73
05 16
4
06 1
4
050 1
0 3
4 4
0 3 87
03 5
4
0 3 07
02
74
01
94
2
3
4
0352
0 305
02 2
7
0 2 49
02 16
0
01
93
0 137
0 -6 5
0 871
0 71 1
05 4 3
06 2 8
05 3 9
04 1 9
0 2 87
0 1 47
03
02 34
01 20
02 0 3
0 104
4
2
0 3 84
05 5 1
0
8
6
4
04 1 1
039 1
0 3 45
03 1 8
02 8 1
0 2 75
02 43
02 2 5
0 195
0 1 74
01 2 3
0
17
4
035 3
02
94
0241
02 1 8
0 1 87
99
0 1 72
0 1 54
0 1 70
01
01
8
4
013 2
02 65
0181
0 1 72
4
0 1 87
01 5 3
0133
015 3
0 1 54
01 18
03 43
02 2
0 2 42
01
8
9
012 2
01 2 8
0 105
G R OUP TESTS O F INTELLIGENCE
2 10
methods we adopt the starting point of our
measurements must b e not the b est specimen nor
yet the worst specimen but the average specimen
—either the median or the mean Instead of
beginning at the beginning we begin at the middle
—
For the middle is the stable point of the group its
—
centre of gravity the capital of a country with
shifting boundaries The normal curve of d ist rib u
tion has no li mit at either end it extends in d efi n
it ely in both directions getting nearer and nearer
to the base line but never touching it At each
extreme a door is left open for possibilities We can
n ever tell when we have gauged the greatest height
of intelligence or sounded the lowest depth of
stupidity
We will suppose that we have taken the probable
error as our unit and have graduated in Fig 3 1 the
bas e line of a curve of frequencies in terms of that
unit The positive half only appears in the diagram
for if the distribution is normal as it is assumed to
b e the negative half will b e an exact duplicate The
diagram reveals the rate at which the numb ers
diminish as they recede from the average The
1 0 per cent
of cases immediately above the mean
~
correspond to 3 76 P E the next 1 0 per cent to
~
~
~
02 P E
0
P
E
the
next
to
2
the
n
ext
to
6
4
47
5
P E and the hi ghest group c ontaining 9 9 per cent
of the cases corr e spond to 2 7 0 0 P E This la st
group is incomplete as a minute part of the area
lies b eyond this boundary
Since the su c c essive
multiples of the probable error represent steps of
equal diffi culty we c annot j udge the merits of
perfor m ances as invers ely proportional to the
number of candidates wh o succeed in them It is
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P R OBABLE E RR O R
211
much easier to rise from the 50 percentile or median
to the 60 percentile or the tenth per cent above
the median than from the 80 percentile to the 90
percentile The actual ratio facility is 3 76 t o 65 2
Use was made of these facts b y Mr Cyril B urt in
constructing his scale for handwriting He c ol
l ec t ed a number of specimens for each age group and
arranged them in order of merit
From the wh ole
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MEA N
3 P5
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FI G : 3 |
series t h us graded nine specimens were then ex
tracted ( 1 ) the first or b es t (2 ) the last or worst ;
( 3 ) the middle specimen or 5 oth per cent in the
whole series ( the median
the
middle
specimen
(4)
of the upper half of the series (t h e 2 5 t h per cent or
upper quartile marking a distance of 1 X p e above
the median or average) ( 5) the middle specimen of
the lower half of the series (the 75 t h per cent or
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G R OUP TE STS OF INTELLIGENCE
2 12
‘
lower quartile marking a distance of 1 X p e
below the median) ;
the l ot h per cent ; ( 7)
the g 1 $t per cent ; ( 8) the 3 rd per cent and (9) the
8
2
t
per
cent
representing
respectively
e
h
X
9
p
above and below and 3 X p e above and below
t h e median
We thus secure scales for measuring individuals
of a given year in terms of the average and variability
O f their own age group
Since the unit of variability
is the same throughout the scale it may b e assumed
that the intervals b etween successive specimens are
”
equal
The r eader will now realise that a un i t of devia
tion is comparable with mental age Each is a
unit of measurement derived empirically from a
—
—
homogeneous group generally an age group ; but
while one is based on the distance b etween similar
points in two successive groups the other is bas ed
on the distance b etween two points wit hi n the same
group It is therefore possible to use the unit of
variation where the unit of mental age is quite in
applicable Since it has n ever b een possible to carry
the scale of mental ages b eyond the age of 1 5 or 1 6
the mental age system has no standards at all ( except
certain arbitrary standards arrived at by guess
work) by which may b e estimated the intelligence of
people wh o are 1 6 or over and wh o are above the
average of the sixteen year age group
If however we are right in assuming that all men
over 1 6 form in respect of intelligence a natural
group j ust as all men over 2 0 form in respect of
stature a natural group then we have in the standard
deviation or the probable error of that group a
Men t l d S h l t i T t p 3 09
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a
an
c oas
c
es s,
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CHAPTE R XX
TH E
SE S
U
OF
G R O UP T E STS
T HE
essential differen ce between an examination
and a mental test is that on e points to the past
and the ot h er t o the future An examination is
intended t o reveal what t h e pupil has done in the
y ears that are gone ; a mental test is designed t o
foretell what he may do in t h e years to come An
examination is an inventory a mental test a prophecy
It thus happens that wh ere mental tests have
di splaced an examination it h a s always been an
admission examination rather than a leaving exam
Mental tests have for many years n ow
in a t ion
guarded t h e door of the sc h ool for mentally defect
ives all over t h e civilised world ; t h ey have begun
to guard the door that admits c h ildren from the
elementar y sc h ool t o the secondary school ; they
have even begun t o guard the entrance t o the
university
The pioneer of mental testing at the university is
College
Professor Thorndike of the Teachers
Columbia Universit y New York The candidate
f or admission to t h e university may if h e likes take a
series of mental tests in lieu of the ordinary entranc e
examination And he often does like The others
those wh o elect to take the ordinary examination
—are also given the mental tests n ot for purposes
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2 14
T HE
USE S
GROUP TESTS
OF
2 15
of selection but for purposes of comparison It is
thus possible to say which mode of selection winnows
—
the candidates the more successfully whi ch method
gives the better index of ability to profit by the
cou rses of study provided by the university Let
“
the D ean of the College speak for himself
F ort un
ately it is possible to determine with scientifi c
accuracy whether or not the mental test is a useful
addition to our academic machinery If it turns out
during a series of years that the correlation between
the marks received on the mental tests and the
collegiate work of the students is distinctly higher
than the correlation b etween the results of other
types of entrance examinations and the college work
it would seem to b e clear that the new plan of a d
mission a ff ords the b est index that we have of the
ability of a boy to carry college work The correla
tion b etween the work of the entire freshman year
for the students who entered by the new plan and
06 5
their marks on the mental test is
The
most reliable data available indicate that the highest
correlation that c a n b e expected between the work
of the freshman year and the results of the usual
college entrance examinations is about
This latter figure has b een obtained not only from
a statistical study of our own freshmen but from
”
si milar studies in another institution
B esides the two grounds of selection referred to
above there is another ground which has been
—
adopted by certain American universities the
reports on the candidates work at the hi gh school
This sourc e of information is not ignored at the
Quo ted from a Repor t by D r D E H wke D e n of Columbi a
h for S ep t 1 9 1
College in the 7 u l f Ed u tio l R
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,
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1
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,
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1
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,
o rna
o
ca
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na
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a
esea rc
s,
,
a
.
2
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2 16
G R OUP TE STS OF INTELLIGENCE
Columbia University ; indeed no candidate is
allowed to take the mental tests unless his school
record is satisfactory And by the method of cor
relation mentioned in the D ean s report it has b een
proved that although the school record has greater
prognostic value than the entrance examination
it has less prognostic value than mental tests Mental
tests head the list each time
Although Professor Terman gives a less favourable
account of the present effi cacy of mental tests at the
‘
Western universities it is to mental tests that he
looks for deliverance from the patent evils of the
ordinary mode of selection By the ordinary mode
at least 1 0 per cent of failures are let through
students wh o have not the brains to graduate
studen t s wh o not only exclude abler people but
lower the general level of scholarship set a b ad
example to others waste the time of the professors
and clog the educational machinery
Terman found the correlation b etween class
marks at the university and C lass marks at the hi gh
school to b e
while the average correlation
b etween intelligence marks and university examina
tion marks was o n ly
Thus the verdict of the
Stanford University is at variance with the verdict
of the Columbia University Terman accepts the
view that correlations between intelligence scores
and success in study are considerably lower at the
University than at schools for younger pupils In
other words the native quality of a pupil s mind is
a safer earnest of sc h olastic success wh en he is
young than wh en he is old The main reason that
Terman gives for t hi s is t h at character counts for
S ho l
d So i ty Ap il 2 3 1 9 2 1
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o an
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G R OUP TESTS OF INTELLIGENCE
2 18
a pupil s capacity to profit by schooli ng the group
tests for un i versities are regarded as valid to the
extent that they measure the likelihood of a student s
doing reasonably well at his university examinations
This view is expressly put by Haggerty in the
Manual of D irections for his Intelligence Examina
tion ; for he says : However we may technically
define intelligence what we mean by it here is that
capacity which enables a pupil to profit by the
work of a good scho ol to recognise the meaning
of words and sentences to remember important
facts observed and learned t o discriminate essential
from unessential materials and t o infer correct
”
conclusions from presented data
It s eems highl y probable t h erefore that Terman
and Thorndike s ecured different results at their
s everal universities for the simple reason that they
used di ff erent tests What T erma n s tests were he
does not state but Thornd ike s are published for
all the world t o see They are incomparably more
d ifli c ul t and more s earchi ng than the army tests ;
and although t h e maj ority of them fall under one or
other of the general types of test al ready describ ed
others as will b e s een from the following quotation
presuppos e an academic training
The candidate
is asked to sa y wh et h er these statements are true or
false :
’
’
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’
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“
Sin
x
i
1
V c ot
z
x
+
1
T he
velocity of a wave motion equals the pro
duct of the wave length by the frequency
“
The annelids are higher ani mals t h an the mol
.
lusc s
.
THE USE S O F G R OUP TESTS
2 1
9
“
Arterial blood has about 2 0 c c of oxygen dis
”
solved in every 1 00 c c of blood
Aristotle with all his wisdom could have answered
none of these questions We are forced to conclude
that the group tests of intelligence at present in
use in America are not tests of an intelligence that
is equally at home in every department of life :
they have a slight vocational bi a s E ven when the
form of the tests is the same the contents vary with
t h e line of acti vit y which the candidate intends t o
follow
The us e of group tests of intelligence for sel ective
purposes has not b een slow in reaching this side of
the Atlantic Education authorities in England
have begun to us e them for the award to scholarships
They are being extensively
t o secondary schools
us ed for the same purpos e in Germany especially
at B erlin Hanover and Leipzig At Hamburg
children are tested each spring and the best of them
transplanted to higher nurseries of learning
The system of s election by mental tests is not
confined to schools and colleges : it has invaded
municipal and business life The Civil S ervice has
partly adopted it and a few large busin ess firms in
London and els ewh ere s eem to have wholly adopted
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B ut mental tests ar e not only s elective ; they are
diagnostic as well D r Hawkes points out that the
t ests us ed at the Columbia University have greatly
helped hi m t o arrive at a diagnosis of academic
“
maladi es
A student wh o has a poor academic
record and a low mental t est grade generally needs
very diff erent treatment from the student whose
record is poor but whose mental test mark is high
.
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2 20
G R OUP TESTS O F IN TELLIGENCE
Th e same principle applies to t h e retarded class
which is b ecoming so common a feature in the organ
In bygone days
isa t ion of the elementary school
it wa s called the dunces class and t h e time was spent
in grinding at the three R s Nowadays it is given
an ino ff ensive or even an honourable name and
the bulk of the time is spent in practical and c on
crete work It should b e noted however that a
C lass of this kind generally contains two distinct types
of pupils S ome of them are t h ere through lack
of opportunities and some through lack of brains
Intellectually the are all ill nourished but some
are ill nourished ec a use they have been starved
others b ecaus e they have weak digestions The former
c a n b e given more food of the same kind as b efore ;
the latter n eed food of a diff erent kind To the
former the class should b e a C learing hous e to the
latter a permanent home And not only in the
”
“
remove class is it necessary to distinguish b e
tween the dull and the retarded but in every class
It is true that the retarded are generally dull as well
but it is not always so And the surest way to find
out wh en it is not so is by the giving of mental tests
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222
G R OUP TESTS OF INTELLIGENCE
would carry him in advance of the procession he was
suspected of an undesirable precocity and made t o
learn the salutary lesson of keeping pace w ith his
comrades And there are teachers still living wh o
rememb ering dimly the days when the passage from
standard to standard was an annual event determined
by an annual examination cling to the belief that the
bulk of the children reall y did make that pilgrimage
through the school arriving at last at the top stan
dard with a store of knowledge and accomplishment s
which would have aston i shed the modern pedagogue
What these children were like when they did a I I IV C
at the haven of this seventh standard I h ave no means
of showing ; but I can show that the number of
those who actually did arrive was pitiably small
Fig 3 2 gives in diagrammatic form the d ist rib u
tion of children among the various standards i n
London board schools in March 1 8 8 6 The columns
are proportional to the numb ers given in the pub
lish ed records
At that date annual government
examinations were in full vogue and vigour and here
we see a typical result of the classification of scholars
based on their success at a stringent educational test
applied once a year The decline in numbers from
standard to standard was extraordinarily steep
for all the forces made for retardation and none for
acceleration A c hild wh o wa s absent from the
annual examination becaus e he wa s ill or becaus e
he fell short by a few weeks training of the r e
quired level had to remain for anot h er whole year
in the same class while the child who did the whole
work in the first three months had to mark time for
the rest of the year
If we leave out of the reckoning the infants below
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SCHOOL OR GANI SAT ION
223
Standard I we find that half the children in the
London elementary schools of 1 88 6 were in standards
I and I I and about half the children left before they
reached Standard V It is true that in those days
they were not compelled to attend school after
1 3 years of age but
0
0
or
per
cent
of
them
did
a
s
3
4
a matter of fact remain beyond that age
In the same d i agram is s h own the distribution of
c hi ldren in London schools in 1 9 1 0 the last date
,
.
,
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,
FIG
.
3
2
.
— 8 8 6 (SH
1
m
A DE D
)
,
19 10
( B LA N K )
w
n o n e :
.
when statistics of this kind were published It will
b e seen that by this time things had improved but
again there was an inordinate crowding of children
in the lower part of the school and a glaring dis
c re a n c
between
the
theoretical
number
of
c
hi
ldren
p
y
per standard and the actual number of c hi ldren per
standard And t hi s wa s nearly two decades after
annual examinations by the B oard of Education
h a d been abolished
T he truth is the tradition
remained Promotion was still yearly and it wa s
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,
22
G R OUP TESTS O F INTELLIGENCE
4
still based on a scholastic examination The only
di fference was that the head master set the examina
tion instead of the government inspector
The next step in London was the adoption of a
scheme of double promotion Children were pro
moted twice a year instead of once ; and it was n o
longer permissible to have monster classes of Stan
dard I and Standard I I c hi ld ren and diminutive classes
of Standard VI and Standard VI I children All
the rooms had to b e reasonably filled with children
and none had to b e crowded The result wa s a level
ling of the size of the classes and a blurring of the
significance of standard The top class in the school
no longer consisted of the few stalwarts wh o had
run the gauntlet of six or seven standard examina
tions It was often as large as any other C lass in the
school and it not in f req u en t ly c on t a in ed children who
were un fi t t ed to cop e with the syllabus of work And
instead of 5 0 per cent of t h e children reaching no
higher than Standard IV 5 0 per cent now reach
the highest class in the school which sometimes is
—
Standard VI I and sometimes S t a n d a rd Ex VI I When
the children are classified however by the stringent
standards of former days there is seen the same
decline in numbers from standard to standard as is
abundantly witnessed by the figures in Mr B urt s
book on the Dis tribut ion a nd Rela t ions of Ed uca tiona l
Ab ili t ies
The decline however is much less rapid
than of yore The weaknesses of the system are
less but they are still t h ere They are still there
because the basis of promotion r emains unchanged :
wi t h rare exceptions promotion is to the present
day solely determined b y a scholastic examination
periodically applied
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G R OUP TE STS O F INTELLIGENCE
2 26
numb er of school laggards has decreased but little
and their needs are almost a s little provided for a s
”
b efore the campaign on their b ehalf began
The fact is these earlier investigators had d is
covered a disease but had di agnosed it wrongly
They assumed a closer correspondence b etween
real age and scholastic age than in point of fact
existed
They assumed that it wa s the older
children wh o were t h e laggards whereas the real
laggards were the younger C hildren
The b eli ef in the level age class is a n atural out
come of the traditional scheme of school organisa
tion If a normal should normally reach a certain
standard at a given age it is quite reasonable t o re
gard a wide range of ages in that standard a s a mark
of either bad organisation or bad teachi ng Thi s
vi ew however is flatly at variance with statistical
laws A wide range of ages far from b eing sy mp t o
matic of bad organisation is the invariable sign and
s eal of good organisat i on For a careful measure
ment of scholastic abilities shows t h at t h es e abilities
tend towards that peculiar form of crow di ng and s cat
tering which is kn own a s normal distribution This
characteristic is brought out quite clearly in Fig 3 3
which represents the distribution of Grade VI
children in the public elementary schools of
Connecticut in
The range of ages in t h e diagram is unusually
large because the number of children is unusually
large With a smaller number there is a smaller
range ; but even i n an ordinary class of 40 the
p 111
Th I t llig
of S ho l Child
The number
t ken from S tr yer d Thorn dike Ed u
ti
p 4
t io l Ad mi i t
,
1
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1
e
n e
2
na
s a re
n s ra
on ,
o
c
en ce
a
a
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ren ,
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an
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s
ca
S CHOOL O R GAN I SATIO N
22
7
natural range of ages may extend over four or five
years S o regul ar a curve is exceptional The dis
t rib u t ion of ages in English schools has never been
yet never has the system of
so symmetrical as this
classification and promotion b een so bad as seriously
to disturb the natural order of things The trend
is everywhere towards normality of distribution
as will b e seen from a study of the numerous dia
.
.
.
,
A0 5 7
o
s
s
6
II
13
12
FIG
.
33
15
I4
IS
:7
.
grams in Mr B urt s book It foll ows that if in a class
the scholastic ages are the same the birthday ages
will b e mi xed and if the birthday ages are the same
the scholastic ages will b e mixed ; and to grumble
about a wide range of ages in a class is as unreason able
as to complain that the stature of half the p op ul a
tion of England is b elow the a verage If the central
tendency of the class is right let the deviat e s be
what they may so long as they are symmetrical
’
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G R OUP TESTS OF INTELLI G ENCE
228
B ut t h e trouble is that the deviates are not sym
metrical They are not symmetrical b ecause the
prevailing b elief in a uniform calendar age constantly
militates against the securing of a uniform scholastic
age ; for it gives ris e to the universal practice of
promoting the older and stupider c hi ldren faster
than their ability warrants and promoting the
younger and brighter children more slowly than their
ability warrants The consequence is that in the
ordinary class the younger c hi ldren gravitate to
wards the top of the examination list and the Older
c hi ldren towards the bottom whi ch is another way
of saying that the real laggards in the school are not
the older chi ldren but the youn ger children
The defects of our present system of organisation
do not all spring from a beli ef in uniform i of age
—
in the ideal class a b elief that is almost unconscious
but endued with all the stubbornness that belongs to
the unconscious ; some of them spring from the
rigidity of the practice of promoting at fixed inter
vals ; and some of them spring from the ignoring
of mental age
Classification on a basis of birthday age is fairly
common in our infant schools It is not a good
basi s but in the absence of evidence of intelligence
and attainments it is the only possible basis B ut
then a classification by the birth certificate is less
harmful in the infant school than anywhere el se ;
for the absolute di fference b etween chil d and c hi ld
is a s yet small It is the b eginning of a race before
the runn ers have had t ime to scatter
Classification by mental age has yet t o b e tri ed
Those few schools that h ave ventured cautiously
along t hi s new road bring us good tidings In a drear y
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G ROUP T EST S
'
2 30
OF INTELLI GENCE
of pressing f orward the brilliant boy He is
supposed t o b e a fragile creature with a delicate
nervous system and a brain peculiarly susceptible t o
inj ury from books ; and hi s appetite for learning is
supposed t o b e greater than his digestion so th at
he h a s t o b e carefully dieted ; hi s studies must n ot
b e t oo stimulati ng they must b e soft and bland a nd
meagre This boy is a myth It is readily admitted
t h at delicate children children wit h unstable n ervous
s ystems are t o b e found among all classes but there
is n o reason t o think t h at they are more plentiful
among the brilli ant t h an among the dull All the
statistical evidence goes t o s h ow t h at on the wh ole
t h e supernormal child is healthier and stronger than
the normal child and the normal c hi ld healthi er
and stronger than the subnorm al child And as for
over pressure it is n ot t o b e deni ed that t h at may
exist among O lder boys lured by ambition or goaded
b y a fear of disgrace ; but younger boys may safel y
b e trusted t o resist t h e sort of brain work that
brings them discomfort And wh ere there is a
victim of over pressure he is far more likely to b e
a stupid b oy t h an a brilli ant bo y
Medical men wh o used t o b e the alarmists in
t h e matter of over pressure h ave recently b een
silent Some of them wh o have come under the
influence of the New Psychology assert that
thwarted ambition at school may give rise t o a
complex
and a complex is a thing t o b e avoided
at all costs
If t h e question at issue were si mply this Are we
t o change the basis of school orga ni sation and classify
on mental age and not hi ng else whatever P we
should have n o h esi tat i on i n answering No ! No
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S CHOOL ORGAN ISATION
2
3
1
single basis wh atever it is will serve our purpose
What a child has to do in school is to pursue school
studies and t o ignore his stage of progress is t o
ignore the most obvious and apparently the most
pertinent datum Nor c a n we infer his scholastic
age from his mental age although the two tend
roughl y to g o together It is a curious fact that
children of the same mental age but of di ff erent
calendar ages are far from displaying the same
educational aptitudes It is found as a general
rule that if a child of 8 with a mental age of
1 0 is taught in the same C lass as a child of 1 2 with
a mental age of 1 0 then in spite of a much shorter
period of exposure to educational influences the
younger child is the b etter scholar In fact it may
b e stated generally that the child with a high mental
ratio is well suited f or book learning whatever his
calendar age may b e ; while the child with a
low mental ratio never takes kindly to books
Fortunately he has a t hi ck skin and a fine system of
defensive mechanisms
If we aim at an ideal classification we cannot
afford to ignore an y source of information about our
pupils To limit the source t o one whatsoever
that on e may b e is to court failure or at least t o
fall short of complete success As a matter of fact
the teacher O ften adopts more than one basis Of
classification : he considers other t hi ngs b esides
attainmen t s He puts forward the old dull boy in the
interests of the boy s self respect ; he keeps back
the young bright boy in the interests of the boy s
social training S o far he is right He has seen
the problem and attempted a solution but it is not
I submit the best solution And the best solution
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GROUP TESTS
2
3
INTELLIGENCE
OF
never be reached until full weight is attached to
—
the factor of mental a g e the factor th at has in the
past been most generally ignored ; and ignored for
the reason t h at we have not known how to assess it
B ut although no one b asis of classification will
su ffi ce it s eems clear that of the t wo important
—
—
rivals mental age and scholastic a g e precedence
belongs to the more constant and the more potent
And mental age (or rather mental ratio which
theoretically n ever changes) is manifestly a more
i ntrinsic and stable part of the pupil s mind than
the kn owledge he may gain or the habits he may
form Whatever we may do or sa y his intelli gence
l
wi l prove a more potent factor than his store of
knowledge in determining the broad lines of his
~
career at school ; and not in school only but in li fe
also Character may of course come in and deflect
these lines at any point but so may illness and man y
other t hi ngs that disturb our calculations
We arrive at the conclusion that t h e intelligence
of t h e pupils is the primary but not the only basis
Other
on whi ch a school should b e organised
factors gradually insinuate their claims ; but in the
early stages at least intelli gence should b e the domin
ant factor There should b e distinct streams of
—
three is a convenient
p romotion through the school
—
numb er and the factor that sho ul d decide in whi ch
stream the pupil shoul d b e placed can b e no other
than his mental ratio or intelligence quotient No
other factor tells us so much about hi m ; no other
f actor is so vital and so intimate so fruitful a source
It
of suggestion
so valid a ground of inference
should prevail over every other consideration in
settling the pupil s general status in t h e school c om
c an
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GROUP TE STS
2 5 .i
r
OF
INTELLIGENCE
That the evils of the orthodox system of school
organisation are crying aloud for redress is ob vious
from the drastic remedies that our schools are adopt
ing The aim of every system of school organisation
is t o secure homogeneous teachi ng units called
classes or grades or standards B ut our teachers are
fast realising that the classes are never homogeneous
and that whatever the alleged teaching unit may b e
the learning unit can never b e anything else but the
individual pupil Hence the c ry for individual
work everywhere Hence the vertical classification
in our infant schools where there is no promotion
fro m class to class but only promotion from exercis e
and the D alton plan in our senior
t o exercis e ;
sc h ools where the pace is s et not by t h e class but
by each separate pupil for himself Y et even in
these extreme reactions against coll ectivism the
class as a teaching unit as distinct from the class as
an administrative unit is far from b eing abolished
Collective lessons are still given either to the ordin
ary class or to a section of the class or to special
recombinations of classes that have temporarily
b een dissolved
The movement towards individual work is all
making in the right direction ; it has cut adrift
fro m the old rigid organisation and is dispelling the
fiction t h at the children make a processional marc h
through the school curriculum I h eartily b elieve
in individual work if taken with a due admixture
of collective work To adopt purely individual
work would b e t o t hr ow away the baby with the
b ath water B ut then nobody does adopt purely
individual work Collective work of some kind is
inevitable ; and collective work means classi fication
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SCHOOL ORGA N ISATION
good
or
bad
and
good
classification
is
based
(
);
mainly on intelligence Even in individual teaching
itself a knowledge of the mental powers and possi
b ilit ies of each separate pupil is the very s ecret of
success An d nothing c a n give this knowledge so
well as mental tests
.
.
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CHAPTE R XXI I
SP
E LL I N G
D
EMO N S
forefat h ers learnt spelling f rom a spelling
book At an y rate they tried to learn it The book
wa s built on some sort of principle but on no sort
I t generally began with a b a b and
of practic e
ended with polysyllabic words crawling like huge
caterpillars across the page words like intercom
mun ic a t ion a n t ip a rlia m en t a ria n ism and in c om
mensurability And a word like apothegm which
nobody used was a s dear to the heart of the maker
which
of spelling books as a word li ke wonderful
everybody used ; indeed dearer f or it wa s h arder
t o spell
B ut spelling books on b oth sides of the Atlantic
—
are thi ngs of the past and Spelli ng bees n o more im
prove the idle mind No longer d o we 3 ell for
display but simply t o avoid disgrace
e learn
t o spell not as many words as we c a n but as few
words as we c a n The question for the classroom
is What words must we insist on our pupils knowing
h ow to spell P Th e usual English answer is Each
child should b e able to spell the words in his own
vocab ul ary B ut a child s vocabulary is not a t hi ng
—
made but a thing in the making a vague and in
eterminat
e
thing
that
shifts
and
changes
and
is
d
ri ever quite what it might be or what it ought to b e
OUR
~
.
.
,
-
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
-
,
,
.
-
,
,
.
.
,
,
.
’
.
,
;
2
6
3
2 38
G R OUP TESTS OF INTELLIGENCE
AYRES S
’
S PELLING SCALE
A
Me do
.
B
And go
at
on
.
C
he
A it is
s
s ee
can
run
.
D
The in
so
He you will
am good little
w
no
no
we
a
o
g
man
ten
b ed
E
an my up last not
old bad red
top
.
us
.
F
Of b e but t hi s all your out time may
into hi m to day look di d like six boy book
-
G
By h ave are had over must make school
street s ay come hand ring live kill late let
big mother three land cold hot hat child
ic e play sea
.
H
D ay eat sit lot box belong door yes low
soft stand y ard bring tell five b all law ask
j ust wa y get h ome much call long love
then hous e year t o I as send one has some
if h ow her t h em other baby well about
men f or ran wa s t h at his led lay
-
,
.
SPELLING D EMONS
2 39
I
Nine face miss ride tree sick got north
whi te spent foot blow block spring river
plant cut song winter stone free l a ke page
nice end fall feet went b ack away paper
put each soon came Sunday show Monday
yet find give new letter take Mr after
thing what than its very or thank dear west
sold told b est form far gave ali ke add
.
.
I
S even f orget happy noon t hi nk sister cast
card sout h dee inside blue post town stay
grand outside dark band game boat rest east
son help hard race cover fire age gold read
fin e cannot May line left ship train sa w
pay large near down wh y bill want girl
part still place report never found side kind
life here c a r word every under most made
said work our more when from wind print
air fill along lost name room hop e same glad
with mine
.
K
B ecame brother rain keep start mail eye
glass party upon two they wo ul d any could
should city only where week first sent mile
s eem even without afternoon Friday hour
wife state J uly head story open short lady reach
b etter water round cost price become class
horse care try move delay pound behind
around burn camp bear clear clean sp ell
poor finish hurt mayb e across to night tenth
-
2
9
4
GROUP TE STS
0P
INTELLIGENCE
these club seen felt full fail s et stamp
li ght coming cent nigh t pass shut easy
sir
.
L
Catch black warm unless clothing began
able gone suit track watch dash fell fight
buy stop walk grant soap news small wa r
summer above express turn lesson half father
anything table high talk J une right date
ro a d March next indeed four herself power
wish because world country meet another
trip list people ever held church once own
b efore know were dead leave early close
flower not hi ng ground lead such many morn
ing however mind shall alone order third
push point within done body
.
M
Trust extra dress beside teach h appen
begun collect file provide sight stood fix born
goes hold drill army pretty stole income
bought paid enter railroad unable ticket account
driven real recover mountain steamer speak
past might begin contract deal almost brought
less event off true took again inform both
heart month children build understand follow
charge says member case while also return
those o ffi ce great Miss wh o died change
wire few please picture money ready omit
an yway
.
Exce t aunt captur e wrote else bridge o ff er
su ff er puilt centre front rule carry c h ain deat h
2
2
4
G R OUP
TE STS
OF INTELLIGENCE
escape since whi ch length destro y newspaper
daugh ter answer reply oblige sail ci ti es known
s ever a l desire nearly
Q
Sometimes declare engage final terrible
surpris e period addition
employ property
s elect connection firm region convict private
command debate crowd factory publi sh rep re
s ent term s ection relative progress entire
president measur e f amous serve estate remem
ber either eff ort important due include run ni n g
allow position field ledge claim primar y result
S aturday appoint information whom arrest
themselves special women present action j ustice
gentleman enclose await suppose wonderful
direction forward alth ough prompt attempt
wh ose
statement
perhaps
their
imprison
wr i tten arrange
.
R
Forenoon lose combination avenue neighbour
weigh wear entertain salary visitor publication
mac hi ne toward success drown adopt secur e
h onour promise wreck prepare vessel bus y
prefer illustrate diff erent
obj ect provision
according already attention education director
purpose common diamond together convention
increase manner feature article s ervice inj ure
e ff ect distribute general to morrow consider
against
complete
searc h
treasure popular
Christmas interest
-
.
SPELLING D EMONS
2
43
S
Often stopped motion t h eatre improvement
centur y total mention arrive supply assist
difference examination particular affair cours e
neither local marriage further serious doubt
condition government opinion believe system
possible
piece
certain witness
investigate
therefore t oo pleasant
.
T
Guess circular argument volume organise
ofli c ia l
summon
victim
estimate accident
invitation accept impossible concern ass ociate
automobile various decide entitle poli tical
national recent business refer minute ought
absence conference Wednesday really celebra
tion folks
.
U
Meant earli est wh et h er distinguish consid era
tion colonies assure relief occupy probably
foreign expense responsible beginning applica
tion di ff icult y scene finally develop circum
stance issue material sugg est mere senate
receive
respectfully
agreement
unfortunate
maj ority elaborate c i tizen necessary divide
.
V
Principal t estimony discussi on arrangement
ref erence evidence experience sessi on secretary
association career h eight
.
2
G R OUP TESTS OF INTELLIGENCE
44
W
Organisation emergency appreciate
at hl etic extreme practical proceed
character separate February
sincerely
cordially
.
X
Immediate conven i ent receipt preliminar y
disappoint especially annual committee
.
Y
D ecision principle
.
Z
udgment
J
recommend
allege
.
An other fruitful investigation was that of D r
W Franklin J ones of the University of South
D akota It diff ered somewhat in aim from that of
D r Ayres While D r Ayres dealt with the v oc a b u
l a ries of adults D r J ones was concerned with the
vocabularies of chi ldren only ; and after tabulating
a s many a s
words used in children s sch ool
—
compositions a task whi ch took hi m eight years
h e published among other things a list of the 1 00
words most frequently misspelled by sc h ool children
“
He called them the
One Hundred Spelling
”
D emons of the English Language
With the kind
permission of D r J ones the D emons are printed
on p 2 46 The words are arranged in the order of
the frequency with which the misspellings appeared
”
”
the most frequent being which the next their
and so on down the columns in reg ular sequence
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
,
’
,
,
.
.
.
.
.
,
,
,
.
2
G R OUP TESTS O F INTELLIGENCE
6
4
ONE
S
S
J
’
H UNDRED
’
t h eir
there
separate
don t
meant
business
many
friend
some
been
since
used
’
where
women
don e
hear
h ere
write
writing
heard
does
once
would
can t
sure
loose
lose
Wednesda y
country
February
know
could
seems
Tuesday
wear
answer
t wo
too
ready
forty
hour
trouble
among
busy
built
colour
making
dear
S PELLIN G
guess
says
having
j ust
doctor
wh ether
beli eve
knew
laid
tear
choose
tired
grammar
minute
any
much
beginning
blue
though
coming
early
instead
easy
through
'
CV C I
Y
D EMONS
t h ey
half
break
buy
again
very
none
I veek
of t
en
whole
won t
cough
piece
’
r a l se
ache
read
s aid
hoars e
shoes
t o nigh t
wrote
enough
truly
sugar
straight
-
Let us n ow turn our attention from errors of
spelling t o errors in composition About a year
teachers of London elementary
a g o sixt y head
schools agreed t o j oin me in a res earch into the
nature of the errors made by children in their c om
position exercises One exercise a month written
.
.
S PELLING D EMONS
2
47
by each b oy in the upper half of the school wa s
carefully scrutinised and the errors classified under
the following heads
,
Errors due t o similarity of sound e g is hi s
as has ; t o too ; their there ; were where
e g
2
Misuse of done
He done it
Misuse
of
other
p
a
rticiples
e
seen
r
s
f
o
a
w
3
g
come for came et c
e
D
ouble
negative
He
didn
t
nothing
d
o
g
4
: e
D
ouble
comparative
i
chard
more
R
i
s
g
5
bigger than Tom
6 Fa i lure of verb t o agree with it s subj ect :
e g Everybody were pleased
: e
f
i
s
Wrong
tense
He
said
t
h
at
at
h
er
hi
s
g
7
ill
8 Con f usion of lie and la y and of rise and raise
f
e g
Adj
ective
used
He
sang
or adverb
9
b eautiful
B etween y ou
1 0 Wrong case of pronoun : e g
and I Wh o di d y ou see P
11
Omission of full stop at end of sentence
O mission of inverted commas
12
Omission of question mark
13
1 4 Omission or misuse of apostrophe : e g D icks
dog h a s lost it s tail
Miscellaneous errors
15
1
.
.
,
,
,
.
,
.
,
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
,
.
,
’
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
,
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
’
.
.
.
Altogether about
words were written
and ex amined and the errors detected therein
amounted to
that is t o sa y a mistake of
some kind appeared on an average once eve ry 89
words
The percentage of errors under each head
,
,
.
,
2
s
4
G RO UP
estimated
a s follows
( )
I
14
'
to
s.
T E S T S OF
INTELLIGENCE
the nearest half per cent worked out
.
(4) 5 (5)
( 3)
( )
I
I
2
1
1
2
I
o
I
( ) 5 ( )
( )
I
2
.
6
5 ( ) 7. (7) r s,
1
I
I
I
.
( 3) 4 ( 4) .
~
2,
~
.
.
'
.
.
,
Th e most f requent type of mistake included
in th e mi scellaneous group was the omission or t h e
misuse of capital letters Clearly t h ere ough t to
h ave bee n a separate head for this
In an extensive investigation of t hi s ki nd where
the marking wa s done by di ff erent people wit h
i nevitably di ff erent standards and where some gave
concurrent instruction for the avoidance of the
solecisms in q uestion while others delay ed such
instruction until the investigation wa s over t oo
much importance must n ot b e attached t o the
exact aggregate of blunders Th e distribution of
blunders however among t h e various categories
would n ot b e seriously disturb ed b y differences of
method and differences of standard Indeed the
results from the several schools were so similar in
their general characteristics that the percentages
given above may b e accepted as reasonably trust
wor t hy And the following facts are worth po nder
ing Over a t hi rd of the errors come under t wo heads
1 and 1 1 the first a ki nd of sp elling error a n d the
second a kind of punctuation error Nearly h al f
t h e errors come under th re e heads 1 1 1 a n d 1 4
More t h an two t hi rds of t h e errors come un der six
h eads 1 6 7 1 1 I 2 and 1 4 P unctuation error s
cover 44 per cent of th e wh ole I f We leave out
spelling and punctuation errors only 2 1 per cent
This is a t
a re l eft a s grammatical errors proper
.
.
,
,
,
.
,
,
.
.
.
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
-
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
.
.
.
,
.
I NDEX
m
44
r ct Thought 5 5 I 5 6
A b t r ct i on Te t 3 9
ff
A b urdit i e
4 4 ff
A lp h Te t 6 if 9 6 9 3 4
35 37 6
Ameri c n T e t
9 ff
77
A n log i 7 8 fi 7 3 79
6
3
Ar i t ot l e 3 5
—
ff
A ri thme ti c 7 3 4
4
43
A rmy Te t vii if
At t en t i on 6
A ure l i u M
3
A ve y ron Wil d B y f 3 8
Ay re L P v iii 5 3 7 3 8 ff
B in A
B rb r 3 5
B tle tt R D v iii
B lloc H 3
8 ff
B t An wer 7
Be t Te t 6 3 6 6
Bi net Te t
4
4
5 6 9
Ad a
Ab s t
s,
a
a
s
1
,
s
a
12 1
,
s s,
.
a
.
1
,
,
2
,
a
s s,
es ,
10
1
,
.
1
,
.
s s,
s
.
1
,
,
s,
.
.
,
a
a
ar
.
,
.
.
,
.
1
s
a
22
,
2
,
2
.
,
s s,
10 2
,
,
s s,
,
,
I
,
,
,
3 , 2 9 , 44 , 4 6 , 6 2 , I 3 6 , 1 4 2 ,
I 4 S. 1 5 7
sa q
, B
, 56
s La w, 1 9 4
y
a
f
71
a
ht of 1 5 9
a a s -P a s
f
la 1 7 8
r t sh
of Ps y h l
,
5,
y,
76
19
2
,
Bo n ue t
Bo le
Br d ord
B r in W e i g
Br v i e r on ormu
Bii J
c o o g v iii
.
’
,
,
,
.
Brown
Burt C
1 3 6,
2 19
,
111
,
2
,
2
,
a
2 15
2 1
,
,
,
,
.
22
,
22
7
,
t ion ,
162
1 5 7,
fi
187
x mpl e f 8
n k 8 5 ff
io 9 4
C r m n hi p v i
C ri chton Te t 3 fi
Cry pto g m 3 3 3
C u be T e t 6 3 3
D lt on Pl n 3 4
D e r born Te t 4
D e fi n it i on 4
De Mor g n A
63
D e t ro it Te t 6 3 66 6 7
D evi t ion S t n d rd 7 ff
D i ck en C 5 9
D i c tion ry 8
D i git S y m bo l Te t 6
D i o gene
58
D ominoe
3
E bb i n gh u Com p l e t ion T e t
7
E l d ert on W P
d E M
99
E a
Ra
Ra t
a f ts
s o
1
,
0,
1
,
.
.
1
,
a
s
,
s
,
,
I
.
1
2
,
a
0
0, 1
1,
,
a
a
1
s s,
0
s, 2
a
s
a
.
,
,
a
a
,
1
0
.
,
,
1
s
-
s,
1
,
a
.
,
,
,
s,
12
,
,
2
1
s, 2 0
2 13
,
,
,
rs , 2
s
.
o
,
1,
10
,
2 1
,
s s,
ra
1
,
s
a
rrela
I
,
,
,
es
o
.
2
1
,
a
,
22
,
,
e
,
o
2
,
0
11
,
.
s
.
2 1
,
1 I
,
s
1
1
,
2
,
.
s s,
s
0
,
,
11
,
a
,
,
a
10 1 ,
,
,
1
s
a
,
11
s s,
a
,
0
,
,
.
a
an
s
e
,
0
.
1
,
s
.
2
,
.
,
s a
,
s,
s
C roll L 7
C u e d E ff ect 4
C h e l e Te t 3 fi 3
Cipher Te t 4 7 8
C i vi l S rvi ce T e t
7 if
Cler gy v
Collig t ion 9
Columbi Uni ver ity 4
Co lumbi n Te t 9 8 if 3
Common Sen e 3 7 9 8
Complet ion Te t 7 6 7 3
Compo ition E rro 4 6 ff
Connect i cut Child ren 6
Cook C pt in 4 6
ar
1
.
,
1 8,
1 44 ,
19
,
149
,
24,
19 2
45
,
,
71,
2 1 1,
73
2 24
,
,
a
,
2 02
2 27
250
,
2 13
s
s
.
.
,
an
.
.
,
,
1
2
,
INDE X
li e Queen 74
me on W 3 3
nvironmen t 5 6
x mi n ti on v
4 ff
F oo l p roo f T e t 4 fl 77
F oo t ru l e F ormu l
88
F orm
I
G lton F 6
67
9
7
G rne tt C M iii 3 6 4 3 6
G ne tt W v ii i 6 4 6 5
G te A I 3 3
G omet ri c l Con t ruc t i on 6 3
G e iu
G od d r d H H 4 5
Gord on H u gh
3
G h m K en e t h 3
G r mm r 4 8 4 9
G reen J A 5 3 5 4
H b i t u t i on 4 3 if
54
H gg e t y T t 7 I 7 6 5 66
H n d wr i t in g S c l e
I
H r p Geor g e G v ii 6 7 5
3
H wk e D E
9
5
Hi n d u t n i T e t 7 8 8 4 8 7 8 8
89
Ho l me 0 W
3
Ho l t
d Co v ii
I llit er t Te t f 4 6 ff
Im gin t ion 5
I di n Ment l Survey 69
Inf orm t ion 7
I nn t e Ab ilit y 3 8 ff
I n t uction Te t 7 4 fi 64
4
7
I n t lli gence 3 5 ff
G owt h f 4 6 ff
Quot ien t 4 6 5
I nt ere t 4 5 5 4
I nt erq u t ile R n ge 7
J gger J H 9 6
J me W
John on
8
3
Jone G v iii
Jone W F v iii 44 4 6
E za b t h
rs
E
R
E
E ssa y s 1 2
E a
a
,
,
,
.
.
1
,
0
1
,
1
1
,
,
s,
-
I
,
a
.
a
2
1
,
.
,
ar
.
.
,
s,
.
.
1
,
0,
I
1
,
0
1
,
1
s
,
s, 2 1
a
.
,
.
a
ra
a
2
,
.
,
.
a
r
1
,
1
,
es s ,
I
,
a
.
s,
.
.
s a
s
s,
.
.
an
a
.
a
a
2 1
,
,
or,
,
0
,
a
s r
1
s
.
s s,
,
1
.
10
e
1
,
o
r
s s,
.
1
,
1
,
s
a
.
s,
1
.
.
,
,
0
1
,
ar
,
.
1
,
a
,
1
2
1
2 1, 2 2
I
,
,
1
1
s,
s,
.
.
.
,
,
2
,
2
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
a
a
a
ua
ea
22
s,
.
,
.
22
,
,
s,
11
.
.
,
2 22
s,
a
’
na
a
e
,
s
0
,
a
s,
I
s
’
s
s
e s,
.
.
a
a
e
as
.
s s,
e
,
11
,
,
a
e
1,
o
1,
0,
,
vu
,
ers s
s,
,
2 1,
,
'
a
.
s
s
s
,
az
s s,
,
,
.
,
s,
e
o
s,
11
,
a
s
10
,
2
sa
a
r
10 2
,
2 1
,
es , 2
s
a
.
.
,
1
,
,
,
1 1
,
,
.
12
2
,
22 1
,
2
2,
,
66
6
8
6
,
,
4
3
3
,
e r on
ercen ti le
cture T v iii
l mou t oc k
or eu
re
Te
ro l e ror
T le
over
,
,
,
,
,
a
2
2 1
,
el vi ord
e
n g ur c le
6 5 66 6 8
owl ed ge ener l 5 8 ff
u lm nn
L gg rd
5 ff
L n g ge
T v iii
L
Lewi E
3
Lo gi c 3 4 ff
Lon d on S choo l
ff
M g ll Que t i on
M x w ll C lerk 5 7
M e Te t 6
M en d e li n Un it
37
M idd l e Word Te t 8 3 8 7
M ill er Te t
4
i
My r C S
M en t l M e ure 6 3 6 7
My
N ti on l I n t lli g nce Te t v ii
N orm 4 4 5 5 89
6
Northumb rl n d Te t v ii v iii
6
fi
4
7
7 7
Numb r S eri e 3 5
7
Nunn T P
3
—
O ppo it
4
5
f S c h oo l
ff
O r g n i t i on
O i en t t i on
5
3
7
6
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5
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1 19
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ibrary
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