The Psychological Testing Movement

Paper Summary:

This paper explores how science has impacted all areas of knowledge in modern society, the result being a desire to categorize many phenomena, particularly that of intelligence. The author further demonstrates how this quest has led to a strong movement in psychological testing to determine who has strong intelligence and who has lower intelligence. The works of several noted psychologists are analyzed in this context. The paper also gives a brief history of intelligence testing, including past and present controversies in this field.

From the Paper:

"The value of intelligence is unprecedented and no other human commodity can compare to the power that an intelligent thought and process of thoughts can exert into changing the world. Without great human minds the world would be lost and stagnated and the developments that have occurred since the beginning of time would be entirely determined by biological evolution, rather than a combination of the later and human and animal ingenuity. There is no strict definition of intelligence and the exceptions to traditional intelligence seeking behaviors, such as education in a standardized form are often called upon to point out that it is not an intangible that can be manipulated, yet there is always a desire to do so."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Casse, D. (1998, August). IQ since "The Bell Curve". Commentary, 106, 33.
• Intelligence. (2004). In The Columbia Encyclopedia (6th ed.). New York: Columbia University Press.
• Daly, W. C. (1997). Some Mentally Retarded Children Can Benefit from Placement with Peers. Education, 117(4), 553.
• Figueroa, R. A. (1989). Psychological Testing of Linguistic-Minority Students: Knowledge Gaps and Regulations. Exceptional Children, 56(2), 145.
• Goslin, D. A. (1963). The Search for Ability: Standardized Testing in Social Perspective. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

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• Comparison Essay # 102688 : "Visual Memory and Eye Movements"

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