General intelligence factor

The general intelligence factor (abbreviated g) is a widely accepted but controversial construct used in the field of psychology (see also psychometrics) to quantify what is common to the scores of all intelligence tests. The phrase "g theory" refers to hypotheses and results regarding g's biological nature, stability/malleability, relevance to real-world tasks, and other inquiries.

Challenges to g

The late Stephen Jay Gould voiced his objections to the concept of g, as well as intelligence testing in general, in his book The Mismeasure of Man.

Related Topics:
Stephen Jay Gould - The Mismeasure of Man

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Some researchers into artificial intelligence have argued that the science of mental ability can be thought of as "computationalism" and is "either silly or pointless," noting, "Mental ability tests measure differences in tasks that will soon be performed for all of us by computational agents. Such abilities probably have nothing to do with genius."(Bringsjord, 2000).

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Intelligence expert Howard Gardner notes:

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I do not believe that there is a single general talent, whether it be called intelligence, creativity or 'g'. I do not locate talents completely within the human skull, preferring to construe all accomplishments as an interaction between cognitive potentials on the one hand, and the resources and opportunities provided by the surrounding culture on the other....All intellectual and creative work takes place within some kind of social discipline, craft, or organized activity, termed a domain. Accordingly, there is no sense in which one can speak about a person as being intelligent, or creative, in general.

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Philip Kitcher wrote in 1985:

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Many scientists are now convinced that there is no single measure of intellectual ability - no unitary intelligence. Their suspicion of the concept of general intelligence is based on the view that various intellectual capacities are not well correlated. ....it is useful to continue to expose the myth of "general intelligence".

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This view point is heavily disputed however, and current evidence indicates that most psychometricians still believe in G.

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