Chapter 4 - Contemporary Models of Intelligence

Summary

This chapter describes cited contemporary models of intelligence for each of the three levels: psychometric, physiological, and social. The contemporary models that bridge more than one level are examined. The chapter discusses the extended theory of fluid and crystallized intelligence (Gf-Gc theory), the three-stratum theory, the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory, and critique of the psychometric level and its models. According to the dual process (DP) theory intelligent behavior can be explained through a hierarchical structure of directed and spontaneous mental processes. Sternberg notes that his analytic, practical, and creative aspects of intelligence could be applied to Gardner's domains of intelligences. Similarly, neuroimaging studies could examine areas of the brain that are activated before and after the acquisition of expertise. The psychometric, physiological, and social levels and their current models have headed the field of intelligence down three productive paths. Perhaps the time has come for these paths to converge into one.